Zakopane, Poland

Introduction

Zakopane is Polands answer to Chamonix, France. Founded in the seventeenth century Zakopane is now a collection of wooden chalets, soviet flats and western branded shops. Like Chamonix it’s a town which services a collection of small resorts; Kasprowy Wierch, Polana Szymoszkowa, Nosal and near by Bialka. Unlike Chamonix most of these resorts are just hill sides covered with snow ploughing Poles, straight lining, out of control at breakneck speed.

The two main downside to Zakopane are accessing the slopes and the lift passes. There is a tourist bus but it’s infrequent and you need a logarithms book to decode the timetable. It’s best to take Taxis to the slopes, make sure the meters on tariff one. Mini bus taxis are cheaper. As for the lift pass’s, each little area has it’s own pass and many sell single rides, half days or full days, some have hand free cards which you put credits on and different lifts deduct different values. It’s absolutely ridiculous and can lead you to needing different coloured passes for different lifts in the same area. At the end of a week your pockets are full of cards, some which have a deposit on, paper passes and a head that wonders what the Russians have done to these people’s minds.

Put all that put to one side, and if you like it old school, don’t mind a walk for your powder, or are a complete beginner, then Poland’s just great. It’s cold as, which keeps its plentiful snow in tip-top condition, it’s cheap with a pint never reaching over the £1 mark, and the women are just fine, just fine.

New for season

New for 2006/7 season: The cable-car in Kasprowy is due to be replaced with a much faster one.

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Resort Statistics

Resort Type:  Alpine
Winter: Dec-May

Lifts

Total Lifts: 19
Cable cars: 1
Chair lifts: 6
Drag lifts: 10
Other lifts: fenicular
Board Leashes required: No

Mountain

Total pistes/trails: 21
Total ride area: 27km
Longest run: 7km

Top lift: 1987m
Vertical drop: 993m
First lift: 800m

Piste suitability

Green runs: 81%
Red runs: 5%
Black runs: 12%

Lift Passes

Lift Passes:  Around £10 a day, depends on where you are and how many runs you do.
Lift times:9.00 till 20.00

Facilities

Night Riding: :  Every area except
Kasprowy Wierch
Snowboard Hire: from 35 zloty/day

Heliboarding: :  Not available
Snowmobiles: Not available

Further information

www.zakopane.pl/

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Summary
Cheap with a pioneering feel. Kasprowy Wierch easily the standout area

OFF THE SLOPES Vodka anyone?

MONEY WISE Lift passes you pay per ride

Terrain & parks

Halfpipe: Yes - sometimes
Terrain park: No -
Backcountry/off-piste:
Tree runs:Yes

Related pages
Image Gallery
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Highslide JS
Kasprowy Wierch
Photo: Steve Dowle, WSG
Highslide JS
Nosal Piste
Photo: Steve Dowle, WSG
Highslide JS
Polana Szymoszkowa
Photo: Steve Dowle, Rider: Alan Garcia
Highslide JS
Kasprowy Wierch Piste
Photo: Steve Dowle, WSG
Highslide JS
Kasprowy Wierch Off-Piste
Photo: Steve Dowle, Rider: Pete Coombs
Highslide JS
Kasprowy Wierch Ridge Walk
Photo: Pete Coombs, WSG
Highslide JS
Kasprowy Wierch, Powder
Photo: Pete Coombs, WSG
Click on an image to expand
Resort News

>> More Snow Hits Poland 8Feb06
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