Turkish Ski Resort Hopes to Rise from the Ashes

23rd January 2025 | James Cove, Turkey.

The area where the Grand Kartel is based is connected but separate from the main area of Kaya in Kartalkaya.

It is smaller with fewer lifts and both of the actual ski areas have not been directly affected by the hotel fire.

Around 500,000 Turks ski out of a population of over 84m, but it is growing.

30 years ago it was only for the very-rich, but now it is opening up.

The fire will of course have terrible short term consequences for the resort, but the resort is expected to rebuild, rejuvenate and remember.

See here for our updated news report on the fire and its aftermath:

• Anger in Turkey as ski hotel fire death toll rises to 79

Tourism is a vitally important industry for the Turkish economy and winter tourism is growing.

Kartalkaya lies in the Koroglu mountains in the northern Black Sea region of Bolu province.

It is 180 miles from Istanbul & 115 miles for the capital, Ankara, and describes itself as ‘one of Turkey’s most popular ski tourism centres in the northwestern region’.

It claims 70kms of slopes and 25 runs, with 2,000 beds.

The 45km road connecting Kartalkaya with the main town of Boya down in the valley was built in 1978  and was the catalyst for the growth of the ski resort.

I visited the resort this time last year as the ski industry looks to the future and to expansion.

Here is my report on the experience from January 2024 to explain what the Kartalkaya resort area offers:

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

Turkish Ski Delight, January 2024

The piste map didn’t look terribly promising.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

But once again looks can be deceptive.

We skied straight to the main, and only, chairlift lift that goes to the top of the resort at around 2,300m.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

The resort itself is made up of a handful of large hotels, with some very decent slopes.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

Then the first ever PlanetSKI snow report from Turkey was filed.

Now if you are wondering why I’m excited about the blue sky coming it’s because there wasn’t great visibility across the day with cloud and mist coming in at a moment’s notice.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

It happens on a regular basis and the resort even has ‘piste lights’ so people can see where they are going as the visibility disappears.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

Apart from my surprise at the quality of the snow, its depth and the terrain; the people and facilities were also not perhaps what I expected.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

This slopeside bar/restaurant would not look out of place in St Moritz or Courchevel.

Perhaps that’s why their distance away is indicated.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

Inside it is what I call ‘up-market’.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

And outside people were there to see and be seen – like in the aforementioned up-market alpine resorts.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

But what struck me most of all was number of people in the resort.

I had expected a few hardly souls, not full on mass ski tourism.

The main slopes were pretty deserted but around the beginner lifts, the slopes at the base of the resort and inside the hotel it was packed with thousands of Turks enjoying sliding around on the snow and being in the mountains.

Inside my hotel they were queuing up to register.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

• Who are they?
• Where are they from?
• When did skiing start in Turkey for the masses?
• How is Turkey developing its ski industry?
• Is it growing or shrinking?

In the meantime there was some Turkish food to be enjoyed at the hotel buffet.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

And this pudding, with tea, is now a personal favourite:

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

It’s called Kaymakli Ekmek Kackiyiti.

But what about the Kartel ski area accessed from the now destroyed hotel Grand Kartel?

The main ski area of Kartel is a fairly straight forward affair.

It has:

• 1 green
• 7 blues
• 6 reds
• 7 blacks

In truth though the reds are blues and the blacks are reds, by alpine standards.

Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI

There are  some decent views too of the surrounding Koroglu mountains.

But take a look at the piste map and notice the single t-bar (top left) with a few runs off it.

I headed straight there.

I thought that I’d give it a go and there might be a bit of off piste to play in.

A bit of off piste to play in?

I beg your pardon.

We spent the whole afternoon in the area, just lapping the same T-bar lift over and over again –  never taking the same line twice.

Some of my friends I was with like to ski the powder in the traditional way:

Others take a somewhat different approach:

The pistes were utter perfection with wide slopes, plenty of rollers and barely a soul around.

It also happened to be a bluebird day.

I filed the daily snow report, complete with ‘PlanetSKI Observations’ on the need to purchase another lift pass to ski in the area:

Then I met my new best Turkish friend, Xecmi Kepgetutan.

He is a veteran ski instructor here and a three-time winner of the Turkey National Ski Championships – he won his last title in 1987 in Ezzerum.

I was with Turkish ski royalty.

“This is one of the favourite areas for the locals in-the-know and it is called Yilmaz Demir.”

“It was named after one of my best friends who died in a car crash – we skied together, raced against each other and partied together.

“We named this area so the memory of Yilmaz would live on.”

I was having one of my best day’s of the season so far thanks to this man.

And here is Yours Truly in the Turkish powder:

Now it should be said that we have been lucky with the snow conditions.

It is often cold with plenty of snow in this part of the world, but not always.

“We get get conditions like this about a dozen times a winter, so you are are fortunate my friend,” said a local I chatted to on the chairlift.

“I would grade the current conditions 8 out of 10 – not the best we have, but up there.”

I came across nothing but friendship and kindness from all the Turks I met.

Their hospitality reminded me of being in Austria.

They were delighted to see a British person had made the effort to come and that he was enjoying their culture, traditions and hospitality as well as their skiing.

Most spoke a smattering of English and to a person they seemed to love practicing the language with a native English-speaker.

Every ski area has a few down sides and Kartalkaya is no exception – here are some ‘PlanetSKI Observations’.

In my opinion there are a couple of slight drawbacks about the skiing in Kartalkaya as seen through the eyes of a skier from Western Europe who more used to the Alps and the Pyrenees.

The rentals are perfectly good for beginners and low intermediates, but poor if you want a decent piste ski or something for the powder with a bit of width underfoot.

I would recommend bringing you own.

They also don’t come cheap at around €50 per day just for skis and €100 per day to be kitted out for full, including clothes.

There is a 15% discount per day if you order for longer.

It should be pointed out that there are some good shops for accessories – gloves, goggles and clothing.

There is no drawback in the food in Turkey.

In my humble opinion it is many levels above the standard meat and cheese you get in many parts of the Alps, and above all it is different.

Like the whole of the skiing experience in Turkey.