When one thinks of skiing in Georgia, it is fair to say that Hatsvali doesn’t immediately spring to mind. Fair enough. However, on a cold snowy morning when Mestia is blocked in with 50cm of new snow and the road to Tetnuldi is closed, Hatsvali is an excellent place to spend a few hours.

I ended up skiing two short days at Hatsvali including one huge powder day. On the powder day there was 50cm of fresh. With a few electrical issues in the region the previous night and a lot of snow on the road, the ski hills preparations were a little behind, so we skinned up to the top and skied the main gondola line, by which time the lift was running. Only a small mountain, (and with Tetnuldi not open for the same reasons as Hatsvali, but with significantly bigger challenges to deal with) it got tracked out in a short time but a few patches of fresh were still . A host of foreign ski touring groups waiting for good weather to go to Ushguli were the main culprits, plus an enthusiastic bunch of local freeriders.

For freeriders, Hatsvali has some tasty treats in the top half, and some more challenging terrain in the lower when the snowpack is deep enough. Fully forested from top to bottom, the most obvious, steepest and interesting line on the hill is directly under the gondola. It will provide some ‘whoop, whoop, yip yip’ action for sure. From there, various lines in the trees or on-piste if ungroomed, will fill in a few hours. In the lower half of the mountain, one might do well to be guided through the forest. The snowpack was too bony down low for my liking when I visited, but several groups with no regard for their gear were giving it a good crack. We do not recommend trying to ski back all the way back into the village.

On-piste, the mountain is fine for intermediate skiers & snowboarders when they are all groomed. The 480m ish vertical is long enough to feel some burn in your legs, but the limited total length of runs limits its appeal over the long term. 6km+ of pistes does not a ski destination make!

We don’t suggest that anyone comes to Mestia & Svaneti to learn to ski because there are so many better places to learn than in this remote region. This is not a place to bring the family on a ski holiday (although the locals do and that’s just fine - it’s their ski hill after all). But if you do happen to be visiting here in winter and you do want to learn to ski, then Hatsvali is not a bad option. Once all the pistes are groomed, Hatsvali can provide some reasonable novice terrain on the surface tows near the top of the chairlift, and then some mor challenging pistes off the gondola. Getting an instructor will require a little bit of local knowledge or assistance, but will also require you to ask yourself why you are learning to ski here?

Ski lifts wise, Hatsvali has become very reliable for running on time and with relatively few interruptions. And even though we think they got their lifts the wrong way around, as with most of Georgia, they are modern and comfortable. And what I mean by ‘wrong way around’ is that the current configuration is a 6-seater chairlift below, and a 10-seat gondola above. The gondola below and the chairlift above makes way more sense from both a pedestrian and skier/snowboarder point of view, but whatever, this is Georgia and if you ask ‘why’, you will have to give me 10 push-ups!

FYI … Constant power outages were once legendary in Mestia and throughout Svaneti and were the main cause of lift interruptions & the creation of lift lines. The outages were intriguing caused by the combination of free electricity & rampant crypto-currency data mining - yep, who would have thunk it). Local agreement, sworn in at the church so no less than God was there witness, put an end to it, but electricity still does go off quite regularly. It is just another part of the adventure.

The 6-seater chairlift provides pedestrian access to the ski hill and is situated on the edge of town at Mestia, just off the Tetnuldi road. On one day I walked there with gear from my guesthouse in around 15min. Step aside for vehicles as many of them wont step aside for you! There is a small car park at the chairlift base but the short side road up to it can be dicey in fresh snow or ice. At the chair, the loading ramp is not great for skiers, so many first timers ascend holding their equipment in their hands - yikes! I suggest taking the chair before anyone carrying their gear gets on (if possible); or stay a few chairs back in case they clog up the exit at the top.

On-mountain restaurants include the Chill Inn. Located at the top of the chairlift, it is the best place to eat on the mountain, with tasty fresh cooked, traditional fare. At the top of the gondola, the bar is comfortable for food & drink, plus warming up on a cold day. It also has the best toilets on the hill. At the gondola base, next to the car park, Hotel Hatsvali has an appealing looking lounge area, good for a morning coffee or après ski drink, plus the toilets are good.

Halfway down the road from the gondola base is Papa's Qel Banya, a sauna set in the forest (its not as creepy as it sounds - far from it in fact). Whilst personally not a fan of saunas, I was nonetheless taken with this place, and it proved to be loads of fun with our group, particularly as it was as we were coming down the mountain after a powder day. The sprint from the sauna & dive into the snow is a rite of passage. The sauna has to be booked in advance. Ask your hotel, guesthouse or tour guide for assistance with booking.

As with most roads in the region, the road from Mestia up to the gondola base at the mid-mountain area of Hatsvali is not for the inexperienced or faint hearted. Narrow in parts and incredibly rough in fresh snow or ice, the journey is best driven by the local professionals (or your tour guides) in a 4WD with snow tyres.

At the bottom of Hatsvali, Mestia is an incredible remote mountain village that comes complete with medieval fortified tower houses; wandering cattle, horses, pigs & dogs; rough snow & ice-covered roads & lanes; and a bustling (even chaotic on occasions) centre. Winter’s here were not too long ago very quiet, but it is steadily becoming busier with each year. Guesthouse accommodation with sumptuous breakfasts & dinners included are still very cheap. As visitation increases, so are hotels (in number & quality), however they are magnitudes more expensive, and less culturally appealing, than staying at a quality local guesthouse. The village has a range of bars (& restaurants if your accommodation doesn’t include food) and the local shops have enough supplies to provide for picnic lunches when out and about, or cheap alcohol for private après ski parties! A bakery on the main street sells delicious, fresh, traditional breads for next to no cost (1 GEL for a loaf is practically free!). If needing cash, the only ATMs international visitors should use are the ones from Bank of Georgia. There are several in town.

I have rated the nightlife a ‘3’ based on the amount of bars & such available in Mestia on any given night. A good night is usually guaranteed if with a group.

Hatsvali is a powder day option that is worth getting on the first chair for. If the upper mountain gondola isn’t running yet, break out the skins and get up the mountain for fun inbounds powder. The lift pass is cheap, and whilst you wouldn’t come to the Svaneti just to ski at Hatsvali, its bloody handy having it nearby when all the roads are closed.

See our thoughts about the resort’s pros & cons on our Hatsvali overview page.

See our video here

I have copied and pasted some of my Tetnuldi review here (please forgive) and posted another review for Gudauri. Please read all 3 because I am trying to provide some 2020 details that cross over among resorts in a country different to all others I have visited for skiing.
Georgia is an amazing and exotic place that makes you revisit all the things that really matter in life.The Svaneti is in an isolated part of northwestern Georgia. It has amazing history, amazing culture, tight family ties and amazing scenery. Mestia is the biggest village in a place with it's own language and a turbulent past punctuated with conflict and invasion. It has retained its culture and you cannot just come here for the snow riding. In fact, riding is the last thing I'd come back for, which is a weird thing to state having spent all my life chasing snow.
There are 2 snow riding resorts in Svaneti. Tetnuldi is the larger, 15km up the valley from Mestia. You can't get to either on foot and there is no bus. Everyone encourages you to go to Tetnuldi. The locals are blatant. "Tetnuldi good. Hatsvali no good". Visitors fall for the hype. It's not true. Hatsvali is a fun little hill.
Early 2020 has been a terrible winter season in (northern) Georgia (and almost everywhere else it seems). I am not basing this review on that, because we did get good snowfall and a taste of the potential. However, it is hard to get enthusiastic about a 30cm base on rock. Luckily at least 50cm fell while we were there and that was almost all the snow for most of February in a notoriously snowy part of the Greater Caucasus.
Why Hatsvali:
- Access is fast and cheap. 10Laris ($AUD5 approx) covered transport to the access chair for 2 people. Ask your accommodation host to arrange all transport the night before when in Mestia. It will be more economical and usually from the door. You can easily ski and walk back to the village centre, but walking up is too hard and sweaty. There is a special mineral water source near the bridge below the museum on the way back to town. If you carry a bottle, you can walk 100m down near the river and get natural sparkling water. It stays that way for days if you have a big bottle.
- It has steep pistes, not many, but steep enough and about 480m vertical from the top of the one lift you ride from in Hatsvali. The access chair is really not skiable. It looks like it may be, but even local guides say you have to know which tree lines to take in a good season to ski down to town without being caught in the river.
- It is quiet. A lift line of anyone at all was only an issue if there was a lift malfunction. Unfortunately this happened several times on more than one day, leading to some time spent in the mountaintop restaurant, developing queue, or on night drive being offloaded.
- The trees look steep and good. I'd love to be able to report on this in detail, but skiing on 30-50cm of hollow snow on stumps and fallen trees is something I grew out of a long time ago. Lots of people were having a go after decent snow fell over a couple of days, but it looked like a struggle. Pick me for next time I visit.
- It is great value for money. At 40 Laris ($AUD21 approx) for a single day ticket and this ticket is interchangeable with Tetnuldi Resort.
- The mountaintop restaurant may not be big, but it is warm, quite welcoming, has good food for a fair price and good music. The views are totally special featuring Mt Ushba. The toilets are good (do not underestimate this in the overall scheme of Svaneti riding). The hotel closest to the lift bottom also serves good food cheaply, but is a bit cold at times. Everywhere has slippery floors.
- A couple of local dogs have Hatsvali on their rotation. It's nice to give a pat and get some affection from critters you watch climbing the hill - some effort.
- Wind is not common in this or other Georgian snow resorts.
What's not good about Hatsvali:
- It's small with limited runs. Think mini Japan resorts. This does increase the personal appeal.
- Beginner terrain is almost non-existent. No lift operated in any easy terrain, perhaps because of limited snow, but I'm not sure about that. To ride off the top you need to be able to handle quite steep runs.
- Don't even think about using the public toilet at the car park near the main lift. It's taken years off my life and I don't even want to think about what summer would be like in there. Sub-zero temperatures may have helped, but contaminated floors, squat toilets, no lights, no water, piles of non-steaming but ultra-fragrant.......
- Any lift failure here is a big thing, because there's only one. Someone told us that 2-days earlier they were stuck totally for 90 minutes, because there was no diesel fuel to run the evacuation drive motor. Our 2 evacuation rides were less than 20 minutes, but we did spend some time chilling in the warm, top cafe as well
In summary, this little hill is definitely worth trying. I would love to get a crack on a decent snow base with new snow. This is a cold place, so quality snow at 1500-2000m is not at all uncommon and the trees do look tasty if a bit tight. My paw rating is based on the quality of snow that fell while we were there. The base was terrible, but the snow was never icy and was topped with the good stuff.
See our video here