Method Mag issue 12.2 is in stores now and this serving of Print's Not Dead is the extended version of Tiny Scenes: Bulgaria. All the information you need to know about this little Eastern European country has been uncovered. It is full of powder, meat and hot chicks. If you're looking for a cheap, new, undiscovered shred destination then Bulgaria has it all! We sat down with uber-local Momchil Vesselinov and picked his brain about his local scene, read on for the full skinny.
Airport to snow: So you’ve landed in Sofia. What now? Unless you are renting a car, you need to grab a taxi from the airport and head to Central Sofia bus station (Centralna Avtogara), where you’ll find buses to pretty much every point in the country. The taxi ride will cost you 5-10 euros. Traveling by coach in the country is quite cheap too. A one-way ticket from Sofia to, say Pamporovo for example, will cost around 10 euros.

When: The season usually starts in late December/beginning of January and ends in mid-April. Generally speaking, the best time to go shredding is February/March. That’s when you get the magical combination of many sunny days, mild weather and good snow bases. The occasional fresh powder dump makes the shred conditions just perfect.

Powder: If it’s powder that you are looking for, Bansko is a really good option for you. It is a small historic town that has turned into one of the largest and liveliest winter resorts in the country and has easy access to some pretty sweet backcountry terrain. A 30-minute hike from the highest lift station will take you to the Todorka peak, the starting point of a number of freeride events in the past. Even if you don't feel like hiking - great forest runs and chutes are available right off the sides of the ski runs. Party time for your powder stick! There are several other really good powder destinations too – Seven Rila Lakes, Maliovitza, Bodrost and others.
Park: In recent years Bansko has had a park with decent intermediate features. Borovetz and Pamporovo also have small parks. The leading force behind freestyle snowboarding in the country (FlipMode) has transformed a little slope in Osogovo mountain into their own freestyle oasis. This has pretty much been the most popular freestyle spot among Bulgarian shredders for the last couple of years. Although there are talks among every major resort to invest in a larger park this coming season, generally speaking, if you are an intermediate to advanced freestyle rider - Bulgaria is not your number 1 choice for park riding in Europe. If you are beginner to intermediate - you will find plenty of stuff to keep yourself amused in every resort.

Jib City: Bulgarian cities and villages offers interesting jibs, with surroundings that you wouldn't see in many places around the world (like ruins of old Communist architecture and monuments). Fast growing resorts like Bansko have unfinished construction sites, which can turn into great jibbing opportunities when there is snow around. 
How much: Lift passes cost around 25 euros per day.

Avalanche danger: As common sense dictates – wherever you are in the world, you should never hit the powder fields before making sure the snow pack is stable, you have the necessary gear, at least one buddy and all the emergency numbers you need. Best way to explore the Bulgarian backcountry is to hire a guide. Check out freemountains.com and oxo.bg for more details.

Sleeping: Great variety of accommodation in all major resorts - bungalows, apartments, 2 star to 5 star hotels. If you are looking for a cheap place to stay, rent yourself a room in a local traditional house. It can cost as little as under 15 euros per person per night. 

Local Heroes: Mario Benio, Lozio Dimitrov, Dimitar Chokoev, Georgi Peltekov, Georgi “Chernia”, Kiko Gustev... With little to no prospect of paying the bills from riding, armed with a lot of love for snowboarding and with a little bit of help from local shops, these kids have become the local big names.
  
Good eats: If you want to start your day like the locals, find yourself a bakery and get banitza and boza (if you are in the Rhodope Mountains - pancakes with berry jam). If you are looking for an instant cure for your throbbing hangover, pop into a restaurant and order yourself shkembe chorba (extremely spicy tripe soup). If you want to treat yourself for dinner, consider these traditional dishes: bob chorba (bean soup), stuffed peppers (green or red peppers stuffed with ground beef or pork and rice), meshana skara (mixed grill), kapama (stewed lamb with onions), moussaka, monastery gyuvetch and so on... 

Local brew: There are some nice local beers you can try, but if you really want to get a good taste of Bulgaria you must try a drink called "rakia". Be warned - it will ignite your body and soul, chase away all evil and make you sing from the top of your lungs in fluent Bulgarian. The proper way to drink rakia is to wash every sip down with salad. Order a shopska salad with your rakia in a traditional Bulgarian tavern and thank us for the good advice. 

Don't forget:  Your camera. Get your mates stoked on the new land you've discovered.

Don't bring: Too much money. You won't need it, Bulgaria is a cheap holiday destination.

Definitely bring: Your charm. Girls in Bulgaria are beautiful. Seriously. Try walking on any main street in Sofia and not hopelessly fall in love every 5 minutes. 

First line of National Anthem: Proud Old mountain, next to it - the Danube (river) sparkles, the Sun shines over Thraki (valley), above Pirin (mountain) it blazes...  

Swearing 101: If you want to swear at someone, try to shout out this tongue twister: "chekidjia". If he (or she) looks puzzled, try again with a different pronunciation. If he looks a little more angry at you than a second ago, that means you've just succeeded in calling him a wanker. 

Weekend warriors: Plenty of English and Russian tourists and of course many locals.

Summer shralp: There are no glaciers in Bulgaria, so summer shredding is not available.

No Compreendo: Although you might find yourself hand-gesturing to people from time to time in certain places and situations, you will find that most young people speak good English.

Weird habits: Some locals ski. Apart from that and unless you act like a complete asshole, locals are super friendly and enjoy speaking to you.

Locals suck at:  Halfpipe. There is only one tiny (and really unpopular among the majority of local shredders) halfpipe in the country. 

Locals rip at: Partying! Party time in Bulgaria starts at around midnight and ends when bars close at around 5-6 am.

From 1-10, how accepted is it to light up a doobie: 9/10, it's illegal to spark up in Bulgaria.

From 1-10, how easy is it to find: 7, just ask fellow shredders on the hill.

Local Crews: Search for “SNow A Days” by Stoil Dimitrov on vimeo – the latest Bulgarian snowboard film. Download “At Equilibrium” - Blickinsfreie’s documentary about the Bulgarian snowboard scene. Check out www.its-all-good-video.com - home page of Never Know Films' (local video crew) latest film. Go to facebook.com/NinjaSquad - facebook profile of Bulgarian Ninja Squad shred crew. For more photos and videos of local shredders on whiteroom.info - the Bulgarian snowboard magazine.

Old Mountain Tale: Bulgaria has the highest peak in the mountains between the Alps and the Caucasus. Its tallest peak, mount Musala, which at 2,925 meters stands even taller than the legendary Mount Olympus in next-door Greece. According to Greek mythology, Mt. Olympus was regarded as almost touching the heavens, the abode of the Twelve Olympian Gods and the site of the throne of Zeus. Awkward.

Why shred Bulgaria: If you are not into powder-covered mountains, good food, friendly locals and super cheap prices, don't consider checking out Bulgaria for your next shred trip. 
 
Down days: Bulgaria is a pretty small country with diverse land and there are plenty of places you can check out in a day - picturesque small villages, natural outdoor mineral water hot springs, you can even check out the Greek Aegean Sea coast (Bansko-Kavala is a 3-hour drive). Large resorts offer all sort of entertainment, bowling, numerous bars, strip clubs, ice skating, traditional bear-cub-clubbing-forest-walks and so on. Ok, we made the last one up.

Shred slang: "Mega posta!" If you want to impress local shredders, use this phrase when you are stoked. "Kutza posta!" is what you say when you are bummed about something.  "Kvo staa, kopele?" is Bulgarian slang for "what's up, dude?". However, bear in mind that the word "kopele" translates into "bastard", so make sure you use it only around people you feel a special connection with... or people you reckon you can overpower in a one-on-one combat situation.

100 euros gets you: 33 double shots (100 ml) of rakia in a nice tavern, or 28 bottles of the cheapest rakia from the supermarket. 

Words by Momchil Vesselinov
All photos by Borislav Kamilov