Little snowfall this year has forced Pamporovo’s hotel owners to organise a vigil to pray for powder in the resort’s Assumption of the Virgin Mary Church. Snow — or the lack thereof — is the resort’s biggest problem a day before December 15, the official start of the 2006-07 ski season.

Because of the unusually mild weather, none of Pamporovo’s ski runs are suitable for serious skiing.

But as The Sofia Echo witnessed a week before the official season’s opening, Pamporovo is far from quiet. As numerous construction sites in the resort show, Pamporovo’s enterpreneurs are competing fiercely against Bulgaria’s other two major winter resorts, Bansko and Borovets.

The mountain construction boom has received much attention over the past few years. Taking a cue from stellar Black Sea development, where enterpreneurs open hotels as fast as possible even when the seaside is littered with dusty construction sites, winter resort owners are building at a fever pace.

For years Pamporovo’s biggest advantage — or disadvantage, depending on one’s point of view — has been its quietness. The hotels, built in communist times, were located far from one another, giving Pamporovo the reputation of place where one can ski and relax without the fuss and glamour of a posh and packed winter resort.

This tranquility is on the verge of disappearing. During a short walk on Pamporovo’s streets, one encounters more than 20 big hotels under construction.

Dora Yankova, mayor of nearby Smolyan, under whose jurisdiction Pamporovo falls, has issued an order banning all construction in the resort from December 15 to March 15. Using the last available days before the ban goes into force, trucks, heavy machines and armies of construction workers were putting their final touches on new buildings.

Whether the ban will stop construction during the season, only time will show. But the experience of the summer resorts has shown otherwise. Yankova’s ban said that all construction should stop during the season and enterpreneurs should keep construction sites from affecting tourists’ experiences. The second part of the ban will be difficult to obey. The area of Studenets Cabin, the busiest place in Pamporovo during the season, is a massive construction site. Warm weather has turned the area into a sea of mud.

The first group of foreign tourists were expected  on December 16 from the UK. Any complaints about low snowfall are sure to fill local and foreign newspapers. In an attempt to head off bad publicity, local hotel owners and tourists agencies have prepared “alternative” programmes, called “snow-less programmes,” they will include visits to natural sites around the resorts and the nearby town of Chepelare.

Indeed, the Rhodope mountain provide plenty of picturesque natural sites, such as the Chudnite Mostove (Wonderful Bridges) and the Rozhen observatory. But ultimately, the tourists are paying for ski holidays.

 Lack of snow is not something new to mountain resorts all over the world. Switzerland’s St. Moriz is experiencing similar difficulties.

Snow machines often provide a solution to the problem. Pamporovo AD, the company that maintains the ski runs and facilities in the resort, has five snow cannons working at full speed. The cannons have been working non stop for the past week to ensure the ski runs work.

But they are completely insufficient. The cannons work only during the night because they only function in colder temperatures, when they produce 10cm of snow cover every eight hours. Pamporovo AD manages to provide snow only for 2000m out of the total 31km of ski runs. Anyone who has skied knows that 10cm of snow is enough for a beginner but not for a full scale skiing experience.

 According to the Ski in Bulgaria website — www.ski.bg — the cannons have never been used for such a long period. No one knows how long they can work this way. As quoted by ski.bg, Pamporovo AD hopes to have at least one ski run ready for use by the time the first tourists come. As The Sofia Echo saw on December 9, there was only one ski run covered partially with snow. It was suitable for skiing lessons but little else.

In terms of lift facilities, Pamporovo certainly has changed for the better. The lifts are modern and fast, with the exception of the one connecting the bus station with Studenets. Pamporovo AD claims prices will remain the same as last year. In 2005,  prices were 14 leva for a two-way ticket and 48 leva for a daily ski pass for all lifts and drags. A half day pass was 33 leva and ski passes for three, six and 13 days were 138 leva, 270 leva and 530 leva respectively.