End of the Skiing Season

April 8th was the end of the Skiing Season here at Turkey.

So I decided to go for a last snowboarding trip during the Easter Holidays. We drove to KARTALKAYA mountain which is about 270km (165mi) away from Istanbul. Once we exit the highway, we climbed about 28km uphill to reach the skiing resort.

I also have a 5,5 month old baby girl and this was her first trip with mom and dad.

So I was excited to have my baby with me and also ski for the last time until December again.

Here are are some pictures for you I hope you enjoy them.

On the highway , stopped at a Parking area for nappy change.
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Climbing up the mountain road. No problems for the XC
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Arrived at the ski resort , looking for a good parking spot.
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No this spot is better.
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Checking out the Cross Country in the morning, it's -4C (24F) The car's frozen :)
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Nokian WR SUV's are ready for fun on snow :)
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Let's play on snow ...
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While playing with the XC on snow, somebody took my parking spot so I parked next to the big boy.
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Now, me snowoarding and some snow pictures.

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MY Baby first time on Snow, but she was too sleepy :)
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On the evening of Sunday 8th, all hotels were closing down so instead of driving home, we took one more day OFF and drove to LAKE ABANT , which is about 25-30mi away from Kartalkaya Skiing Resort.

Driving down from the mountains, as you can see most snow has melted away already.

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Driving to Lake Abant .
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This is Lake Abant, the lake itself is about 1.400km (0,875mi) above the sea level and it is frozen in the winter time. You can walk across the lake .... I remember 30 years ago my father crossed the lake with his car but nowadays it can be dangerous as people say we can't get the old cold winters anymore.

The lake is surrounded with pine trees and there is a road that surrounds the whole lake. You can go running, Cycling or Horse riding around the lake.
We arrived at the Lake Abant at 20.00 hours had our dinner and went to sleep as we were tired of snowboarding.
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In the next morning , after breakfast my baby swims for the first time in her life :) BTW she wasn't sleepy now :)

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After swimming, jakuzzi, sauna and some steam bath , we went up to our room, packed up and checked out from our hotel , took a round trip around the lake and drive back to home.

XC parked infornt of the Hotel.
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Our Hotel, imagine it in winter :)
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Pictures around the lake, you can still see some snow around.
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Driving on the Highway to home :
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Finally after reaching home, washing the car :
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Woow , a Very Clean V70XC :)
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Nice photos. Cute baby. Ahhh, nice and clean at the end.

Great pics and a smart sequence as well. Ski season is still going strong in Calgary (typically ends the 3rd weel in May) but I hung up the boots this weekend as well. After an early November start I'm ready for a change in sports.

John

Missed this thread last week while I was up making a few last turns of my own up at Whistler (our "local" ski area)... Great pics and stories doublecheese, thanks for posting!

Thanks guys :)

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the pics.

Now the winter is over here, I hope to take the XC to the summer adventures very soon :)


Btw, this morning I saw that somebody bumped into my right side mirror, the mirror itself is cracked and the back of the mirror has a sharp hole on it :( :( :( better call my insurance ;(