Jasna
Mountain stats
Lift count :
1 x Gondolas
7 x Chairlifts
16 x Drag-lifts
36 km of pistes
Pass (Low/High Season) : £19.62-23.71 Day, £63.77-127.55 Week
Over the last few years Slovakia has built up a reputation as being the next big thing – and after spending a bit of time in Jasna you start to understand why. Following what seems almost a dead end road through the Demanovska Valley, you find yourself in the middle of Jasna, sometimes referred to as Chopok (highest peak in resort).
The tree laden resort makes for picture postcard scenery, and at times you may think you've stepped out into the Chronicles of Narnia through some of the tree runs. At certain points in the season you find yourself overloaded with Ukrainian, Russian and Polish tourists on the school break, but a good mix of terrain for beginners and intermediates means this is spread over the resort - but you will find around the main lifts huge queues during peak holiday weeks which can be stressful.
It’s these times when you will find the "freeride zones" come into their own. There are three marked areas which have no lift access and require anything from 10 to 2 hours walking to get your fresh fix; not exactly popular with your average tourist who try and avoid the queues by hiding in the many cafes. However, spend a little time getting there and you can experience the chutes and great terrain that these areas offer.
From the top of the Rovná Holá - Konsky Grún chairlift you can take a 30 minutes walk over to the south side of Chopok, to Jasná Juh - a smaller resort then the north side, but still covered by your lift pass. At the peak you will also find one of the remotest cafes around - where for 300skk (£6) you can spend the night on top of Chopok with evening meal and breakfast included for fresh tracks the next morning.
Theres plenty of cheap eats on the hill, as long as you like goulash, corn or fried food, but for something more traditional head to Bjosonova Chata for a good feed.
The fun park which you can walk has the usual supply loads of rail slides, with a wall ride and a couple of kickers.
Jasna
Photo: Infocentrum Jasna Nízke Tatry
Two of the nursery slopes are open at night and frequented by one piece suits bent double, with arses pointed to the havens and eyes fixed on the tips of there skis.
The resort itself consists of a few hotels which will cost you aroun £18 a night for half board. The nightlife at the hotels is a bit suspect - so take a cab or jump on the bus down to Liptovsky Mikulas at the bottom of the valley where all nightlife and entertainment is centred. Look out for Route 66 & Ski Club for cheap beers with lively atmosphere into the early hours. Although you won’t find many English speaking groups around - there are an increasing number setting up, so before you see the Crystal & First Choice clad reps walking around you should take advantage of the cheap prices and unique experience. Currently the only British operation are Propaganda Snowboards who have a chalet directly between the city and the resort.