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In Sarajevo, skiers hit the slopes again at 'Serb mountain'http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0112/p07s01-woeu.html"Five years ago, intrepid skiers tired of Telluride could have earned bragging rights by taking on the ultimate thrillride: vacationing at this war-scarred ski resort near Sarajevo.
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Back then, the mountain was mostly deserted, attracting a small but bizarre mix of Bosnian Serb politicians, vacationing Belgraders and Montenegrins, NATO peacekeepers, and international aid workers living in Sarajevo. They would spend part of the half-hour drive from the capital gossiping about which ski-school owner was a war criminal.
The boxy communist-era hotels and the surly service from waitresses brandishing menus in Cyrillic hardly evoked a cozy, après-ski atmosphere. And a likeness of the old Olympic mascot, a cartoon wolf pup named Vucko, appeared on lift tickets sporting a red, white, and blue scarf that mimicked the Serbian flag. The ambience was intimidating enough to keep my skier friends in Sarajevo away for years.
Today, however, Jahorina is the best place in Bosnia to ski. All-day lift tickets at the former site of several women's Olympic events cost about $16 (tickets at top US ski resorts, by contrast, cost as much as $75), and there are plenty of hotels, restaurants, and cafes. Lately, I've heard dozens of visitors rave about their first forays up there since the war.
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