Hi All,
I found this forum while trying to learn about the ski conditions in eastern Turkey, near Erzurum and Yusufeli. I'm very thankful for this English section as I hope it can help me gather information .
I'm coming to Turkey from the USA in early February with a couple friends to do some backcountry (not helicopter) skiing in the Kaçkar mountain range. Since we will not be at a resort such as Palandöken, it is difficult to find forecasts and snow conditions for the more remote areas.
I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions:
1) What is the preferred website for determining weather and snow conditions in Turkey? I found some sites like TSMS and weather.com but I was hoping to find which one locals trust the most.
2) Are there organizations in Turkey that deal with mountaineering or backcountry skiing that may be good resources for conditions of the snowpack (with regards to avalanches, etc.)?
3) I found this website because I was searching for webcams showing the mountains in eastern Turkey, but a lot of the links were old and no longer working. If anyone knows of working webcams in Erzurum or the Kaçkars, that would be awesome!
4) Any other tips for a skier coming to Turkey for the first time?