Gudauri, Georgia: The Famous Gudauri ski resort in the heart of Georgia's Caucasus mountains is unusually empty for this time of the year.
Ski lifts, hotels, restaurants and cafes are all shut.
The ski tracks are empty and have become a playground for stray dogs.
Georgian ski resorts have been closed since March last year (2020) to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. The restrictions are in force until 1 February 2021 when, based on the number of coronavirus infections, the government will announce new regulations.
Buta Eloshvili, a member of Georgia's national freestyle team, has not been able to train properly since the start of the pandemic.
All ski lifts are shut, preventing skiers reaching the slopes and being able to train.
International training sessions and tournaments have also been cancelled.
To maintain physical form and, as he jokes, "not to forget how to ski," Eloshvili and his friends have been ski touring - skiing in unmarked and unsupervised areas.
It's a relatively new sport in Georgia which has become more popular during the pandemic as reaching slopes by foot is the only alternative to a costly one-way ride to the top of the mountain.
"Sportspeople have no possibility to move from slope to slope and the only way to train is ski touring. But ski touring does not enable us to train in freestyle, we only manage to maintain physical form " says Eloshvili.
Ski touring requires skiers to use backcountry areas. It requires knowledge and special equipment.
Tata Potskhverashvili is a ski enthusiast. She decided to try ski touring as an alternative to paying 40 GEL (12 USD ) for a single ride with a snowmobile to a ski track.
"As we know, today all winter resorts (around Georgia) are closed and all ski lovers including me do not have the possibility to use ski lifts and ski. But there are alternative ways like using a snowmobile to get onto the slopes for a single ride or there is ski touring which is relatively new in Georgia. This year I have joined my friends and tried to reach slopes with ski touring," she says.
Julia Kalinyuk has been organising tours in Gudiaru for the past 5 years.
She owns a company which previously offered tourists horse rides, snowmobiles and paragliding. Now, her only income is a few rides with a snowmobile.
"We (organise) paragliding, we have snowmobiles, horses, quadricycles, but because of COVID-19 everything is closed. Tourists cannot come. In Mtiuleti (the region where Gudauri resort is located) 90 percent of income is based on the tourism industry and now, almost everyone is unemployed."
Only a small number of tourists can reach Gudauri even for sightseeing, as no public transport is allowed to operate in Georgia during the pandemic.
The pandemic has hit ski rental shops hard too.
Usually, a very busy spot in Gudauri, this resort is now empty. Shalva Mikhailov, who works at a ski rental centre hopes restrictions will be eased gradually to allow winter resorts to operate at a normal capacity at least for a limited time.
"Some number of vacationers come, but very few. Because of restrictions, it is hard to travel. I think that such restrictions are not needed, and it will be much better if the resorts open gradually," says Mikhailov.
Gudauri is the highest and largest ski resort in Georgia with 35 km of slopes and 15 lifts to transport skiers.
In addition to Gudauri, Georgia opened new ski resorts around the country in recent years in an attempt to expand tourist capacity in the country.
