Ski Presse

PHOTOS © Evans Parent
Le Kosovo est devenu tristement célèbre durant le
génocide survenu à la fin des années 90. Durant cette
période, près d’un million de Kosovars de confession
catholique ont fui vers l’Albanie alors qu’ils étaient persécutés
par la minorité musulmane serbe. Pour cette partie du monde,
ce n’était pas le premier conflit impliquant des habitants
d’ethnies différentes. Située au cœur des Balkans, les paysages
magnifiques de cette région auraient, à eux seuls, justifié qu’on
se l’arrache.
Kosovo became tragically famous during the genocide that took
place at the end of the 90s. At that time, close to a million
Catholic Kosovars fled to Albania to escape persecution by
the Serbian Muslim minority. It was not the first such regional conflict
involving residents of differing ethnic groups. Located in the heart of
the Balkans, the magnificent countryside alone could have been enough
to spark this kind of territorial possessiveness.
Surfing the Web, I happened
on some information about
Brezovica, a Kosovan ski resort
that was described as an off-piste
heaven. Brezovica, the only ski
resort in the area, on a mountain
with a 780-metre vertical rise,
was considered as a candidate
site for the men’s downhill of the
Sarajevo Olympic Games in 1984.
My friend Amélie and I perused
a few photos showing pristine
white snow and, suffering from
contagious curiosity, we decided
to take off in a camper on the trail
of this obscure paradise.
As we approached the border, we
felt the tension rise in the RV. There
was a long waiting line, it was late,
and there were several armoured
vehicles in evidence…all of which
PAR/BY EVANS PARENT
Skier au paradis perdu
Skiing in paradise lost
made my girlfriend and me a little
edgy. However, other than the
special car insurance that’s required
if you want to drive in the country,
it’s really as easy for a Canadian to
enter Kosovo as it is for one of us
to enter the United States. After
responding to the usual questions,
we completed our journey toward
Brezovica on roads that had clearly
seen better days.
A few hours later, having traveled
some distance and seen a fair
number of signs indicating that
we should give way to armoured
vehicles, we decided to stop in a
village for the night. We parked
our “home on wheels” in a dark
corner by a hotel that appeared
abandoned, and then managed to
get to sleep in spite of the gloomy
atmosphere in the village.
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