all quieter (& cheaper!) on the eastern front

LIKE THE SOUND OF EMPTY BLACK RUNS, A$50 DAY PASSES, A$10 BEER & FOOT LONG SAUSAGE LUNCHES, PLUS CHARACTER AND HISTORY IN SPADES? THEN READ ON, DAVE WINDSOR HAS A THIRSTY SKIER’S GUIDE TO SKIING THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND A BIT OF NEIGHBOURING POLAND TOO.

The ‘Giant Mountains’ that divide the regions of Bohemia, Czechia and Silesia, Poland (Krkonoše in Czech or Karkonosze in Polish) are giant by name, but not by nature - when compared to the Alps, Rockies or Andes.

The topography and views of and from them are comparable to Victoria – serene, picturesque, rural and max out at 1,603 metres. Unlike Victoria, they are home to scores of ski areas, and they certainly make the most of what mother nature has provided.

Last visit in 2020, a lack of snow had us skiing Austria instead. This time, leaving in mid-January with my Polish-Aussie mates Andrzej and Marek, I thought we might suffer a similar fate. But the cold and snow finally arrived. Our Eastern Euro roadie was saved by 40-90cm of natural snow,,which had lifts, snow guns and runs firing – particularly on the Czech side of the border.

From Andrzej’s delightful holiday house in the forest above the Polish tourist town of Szklarska Paręba, the Czech border was just 15 minutes away. Handy! We bundled into his trusty Skoda Octavia and headed north, south, west and east, hitting seven ski areas (One Polish and six Czech), driving about 750 kilometres direct to and fro, plus a few hundred sightseeing kilometres too.

“The resorts in Czechia are very well appointed, staff are sympathetic and they have plenty to offer,” says Marek, “I advise everyone to ski in Czech.”

The language barrier was a little challenging. But a smile, my Polish mates and google translate helped. Consistently freezing temps kept the snow as crisp, stable and chalky as anywhere I have ever skied.

Hourly to multi-ride to multi-day tickets are available at most areas, and some even have weird point systems that I didn’t bother with. Buying/topping up online can save you a few bucks, so it’s worth doing a bit of research before heading out.

Getting around was extremely easy once we navigated our way through the frozen narrow streets of Szklarska and hit the open roads. All roads were cleared, well signed, and in excellent condition, leading directly to slopeside car parks of varying size and condition. Some are free, or otherwise cheap at A$5-7 per day.

Skiing aside, we also took in the sites, visiting terrific towns and cities such as Görlitz in Germany, Jelenia Gora and Wrocław in Poland, and the Czech capital Prague.

Prague is the prime reason the skiing in these parts is so plentiful. It’s an easy two-three-hour drive via the quick D10 Motorway (130km/h limit) to get to the foothills. Plenty of billboards promote the coaches to and from Prague for day trippers and holiday makers to hit the likes of Harrachov, Rokytnice, Černá Hora-Pec and Špindlerův Mlýn.

If you’re not as lucky to have a mate with a car and holiday home then there is tons of accommodation in Poland’s Sklarska area for rent, including a brand spanking new Radisson.

Alternatively, you could lodge across the border in neighbouring Harrachov, Czechia, which not only has its own ski area but sits at the crossroads between Prague (two hours south) and the dozens of ski areas in this neck of the woods.

Hiring a car is best to explore at your own pace. Take in the sights on weekends when ski fields tend to be crowded. Aussies can stay 90 days in 180 in Schengen area countries, driving passport free across the borders just like the locals.

Harrachov

With a five-hour ticket in hand, CZK 930 (A$55), we had ample time to kick off the roadie. Two nondetachable four seaters serve the four long runs off the 1,022m Čertova Hora summit, plus a couple of surface tows for a pair of beginner runs. The main choice ‘Blue’, ‘Red I & II’, and ‘Black’.

Plenty of snow and excellent grooming had us doing lap after uncluttered lap. The solitary ‘Black’ run was the winner (and best black for the trip too). At 1,259m long through 300m, it boasted a max gradient of 65%. The straight, wide pitch ironed out the wrinkles and tested our legs, nerve and stamina.

“This is an excellent run,” says Marek, “it gives us all the information of what we are doing wrong.”

The snack shop at the bottom serves kranskies and shots of Pear Williams; the one at the top serves the Italian favourite, Bombardino topped with whipped cream, whilst kicking back on the sun lounges.

The adjacent ‘Blue’ & ’Red’ runs are longer winding routes sweeping left, right, left, right - you get the picture - leading into a tricky left to right cambered plateau that delivers us back to the bottom of the quad. Three-quarters down Red II (which reminded me of Buller’s Bourke Street) are a couple of charming pit stops to augment the lively base in town, where we enjoyed our first of many cheeky Czech beers at an average price of about $5 for a 400ml glass. Harrachov kicked our roadie off to a perfect start.

More info: skiareal.com

SKI & SUN, ŚWIERADÓW ZDRÓJ

The only Polish hill we managed to hit was the charming one and a half run Ski&Sun Świeradów Zdrój, located in a quaint old spa town. Despite being a one-trick pony this hill typifies the region. Easy access, great car-park, decent facilities, heaps of snow making (42 guns), excellent grooming and good fun.

The peak is only 1,060m and the 2.5km long run is a combination red-blue, through 443 vertical metres. The 8-seat gondola cabins can transport 2,400 punters per hour, the 15-minute round trip had us averaging about four runs per hour. So we opted for the two-hour PLN 90 (A$30) and three-hour PLN 120 (A$40) ticket options. There’s no rush to get there early or ski like a madman – just go do laps. They also offer a three and five-run ticket, plus day passes, catering to as many budgets and levels of eagerness as possible.

MUSTANG BAR HAD US LOUNGING IN THE SETTING SUN DOWNING $3.50 PINTS BEFORE HEADING HOME.

Carolina from Poznań gave us an excellent tip, while topping up our glasses with her BYO mulled wine, “Just wait until 5:30 before heading down. At dusk the groomers will be heading up.” We did, getting a corduroy line to the base.

Two little restaurants top and bottom serve hearty homemade staples such as placki (potato cakes) with goulash $13, bigos (hunter’s stew with sausage) $15, and pork chops $16.

To round out the day we checked out the quaint township and impressive 250-year old Uzdrowisko Świeradów Zdrój spa & health resort.

More info: skisun.pl

Rokyntnice

This Roky well and truly punches above its weight. Another compact area with only a handful of lifts offering some excellent skiing. There are two areas to ski in Roky, beginner friendly Studenov and sundrenched south facing Horní Domky, which peaks out at 1,315m and offers 14.4km of varying pistes.

Being a larger area and arriving mid-morning we opted for a four hour pass for CZK 780 (A$46), and weren’t disappointed. Long, interesting and challenging runs can be found across the mountain. Along with seemingly empty horizontally striped mountain lodges dotted throughout.

A top to bottom run of 3km through 650m vert can be had via the blue combo Touristic & Zoomer or interlinking some ripper reds.

This is a well-polished operation with snow making throughout, a 7,070 per hour lift capacity and plenty of on snow huts for a drink or bite to eat.

SkiBar U Zalomenyho served a mean tea with Božkov ‘grog’ – a very pleasing local gold rum. Mustang Bar had us lounging in the setting sun downing $3.50 pints before heading home.

The frozen pines under the summit of Lysá Hora are reminiscent of the snow ghosts at Big White, and provide a splendid backdrop for the start of the fantastic 2.5km #5 run, Red FIS. This is one of the best reds we skied in Czechia and although the Lysá Hora quad was packed for most of the day, we managed to squeeze in half a dozen laps by taking advantage of the singles queue (a four to six-minute wait). On the other side was the equally fun, but shorter #3 - Slalom, which, as its name suggests, is fast, technical, steep in parts and is easily accessed by the quick, uncrowded A3 button lift.

Even faster, steeper and narrower is the 962m, 330 vertical metre #4 - Lumberjack. Roky is biggish, cold, has great snow and excellent service. Two thumbs up for this local favourite.

More info: skiareal-rokytnice.cz

ČERNÁ HORA – PEC

Best on ground, MVP and our favourite spot by far goes to Černá Hora – Pec pod Sněžkou. Like the other areas, I found it on Google maps and didn’t know what to expect.

Arriving at the enormous gondola station in the town of Janské Lázně and observing surrounding hotels and infrastructure, it was apparent we’d be in for a big day out , for an incredibly cheap CZK 1,160 (A$68, buy online & save).

The quick 8-seat Černohorskÿ Express gondola had us at 1,260m within minutes and we arrived to a hive of activity, replete with Austrian style umbrella bar,

British DJ, riviera inspired sun lounges and a 100% Czech ski-in ski-out bar. The views, forest, snow and overall vibe is second to none.

The runs are long, varied and plentiful speeding us down to four pick up spots. The testy red Andél warmed us up away from the busier morning lifts. Further down we cruised and carved our way to the 6-seater Hofmanky Express, and the considerably slower 4-seater Protěž, all the while racking up plenty of miles and heaps of vertical.

A big part of the fun for many here are toboggans. Unlike anything you’d see in nanny state Australia, there’s a 3.5km “sledge track” from top to bottom, through 556 vertical metres on a purpose cut trail. Although hundreds of sledders cross the pistes at numerous spots there wasn’t a single collision. Everyone’s allowed to enjoy the mountains, be it on skis, boards, walking, toboggans or best of all, snowcats.

Conditions permitting, two 20 seat bright blue snowcats transport you about 5 km from Černá Hora to neighbouring Pec pod Sněžkou (with a bit of a ski from the first to the second cat). Which opens a total of 32km of runs across the two fantastic areas. Being a very spread out resort with three distinct areas, it was easy to avoid the crowds and rack up laps.

Set below Sněžkou (the tallest mountain in Czechia at 1,603m), it offers a spectacular outlook, especially while drinking beers or Bombardinos from any of the numerous sun deck bars dotted across the resort, including the uber cool Ski Bar Kuhstall. Red and blue runs dominate at Pec. It boasts a solitary black run, Hnědy Vrch, a short, sharp and super steep 500m wall of vert that was smashed by the local ski squads and survived by the rest of us.

“This place is the best because of all the variety,” pronounced Marek, “all the runs are quite demanding and good and there are so many different runs that it’s difficult to check them all out in a day.”

Before catching a crowded 30-minute bus back to our car, we down shots of slivovica (plum liquor) at the slope side Penzion Srub Panorama and toast another terrific day, while planning a return visit later in the trip.

More info: skiresort.cz

Spindler V Ml N

Špindl is the Czech go to. Consecutive winner of the ‘Best Czech Ski Resort Award’, it’s big, brash and somewhat international. It was my 100th career ski area, not bad for someone who started skiing at 31 years of age.

It’s apparent from the town, buildings, lifts, marketing and ski office that they’ve spent plenty of money here. It boasts 27kms of slopes, 6 chair lifts and 11 surface lifts. That is all spread across two to three areas - Svatý Petr-Hromovka, Medvědín-Horní Mísečky-Labská and Stoh. Too much for a day, so better to stay in town a few days and explore each area – next time!“When it’s sunny it tends to be busy over at Medvědín, so I ski here at Svatý Petr,” explained local lifty Piotrek, “you need to see where the crowds are going and then head somewhere else.” Good tip!

We focused on the Svatý Petr area too, as it looked to be the biggest, grabbing a day ticket online for CZK 1,250 (A$73) – one third of Aussie prices, but the most expensive of our trip. Buy online and collect tickets via a vending machine to save a few bucks.

The conditions were Micky Mouse as the Women’s World Cup circuit was here the week before. A high speed detachable quad and a heated six seat express shuttle us to the 1,195m peak in no time. However, the six-seater wait was reminiscent of a Saturday at the bottom of Heavenly Valley.

Fortunately, a dependable old 2 seater interlinked with a T-bar kept us moving. Hard to say if this was quicker, but it avoided the shoulder-to-shoulder throng. Špindl’s about as posh as Czech skiing gets: slopeside Veuve Clicquot champagne lounge; Audi Quattro bar; and a noticeable amount of fur, smart outfits and new skis & boards. The clincher was the price of lunch: pizzas start at CZK 389 (A$23), burgers at CZK 429 (A$25). It was easily the most expensive place we visited, on an otherwise a super affordable roadie. Still, a 400ml Pilsner Urquell only cost $5, and the car park’s free.

But we came to ski and the skiing was ace. For mine, the 2km long Červená was the best red we’d skied all trip, weaving through 450m vertical at a fast pitch on outstanding cover.

In Czechia most of the skiing is in the tree line, so runs are beautifully bordered by huge spruce forests. They take advantage of strategically placed outcrops to create numerous intersecting blue, red and black runs funneling down to the bases, which adds a bit of variety. The main game in Svatý Petr is the FIS World Cup black run - punchy, aggressive, exposed. Like the brilliant blacks at Harrachov and Pec, it isn’t over skied and certainly burns your thighs.

Špindl deserves the accolades and a longer stay, perhaps combined with a time in Prague.

No doubt plenty drive or catch the bus from there for a romantic getaway, to live the high(ish) life or impress mates. It’s classy, cool and fun to ski. Weekends best avoided - stay in the city then.

More info:

- spindleruv-mlyn.com

- gopass.travel

Paseky Nad Jizerou

Paseky is tucked away at the end of a couple of narrow valley roads. Our first attempt to ski here was thwarted by an 18-wheeler stuck in the snow, so Andrzej chucked a 3-point u-bolt and we headed to Rokytnice. The next day we tried again and made it.

Paseky is a pocket rocket beginner hill, essentially the Czech version of Baw Baw or Selwyn. Great for beginners and those on a budget — CZK 580 (A$34) for a four hour ticket is bargain basement. Unlike Baw Baw, parking is free.

“I can’t afford to ski at Spindl or Rokytnice,” says Tereza, “but Paseky and Rejdice are really good value and much easier for me”.

The highlight was a half-litre home brew at the very popular Prdek (translation: Fart!).

We enjoyed a coldie with some local characters and one of them put us onto a microbrewery at U Čápa, a tiny neighbouring ski-village 9km by car or 4km on Nordic skis. We opt for the car.

The excellent 12% strength unfiltered Svoteběžník JC pale lager and a generous plate of goulash comes to CZK 244 (A$16) in total!

They claim, “we brew these beers in the traditional artisanal way from water, malt and hops and using brewer’s yeast, Czech beer needs nothing more.”

I’ll drink to that.

More info:

- skipaseky.cz

- prdek.cz

- ucapa.eu

Herl Kovice Bub Kov

Another day, another 40+ minute drive to another interconnected boutique area.

Herlíkovice & Bubákov is the tale of two sides of a ridge. To the south is the super easy beginner area of Bubákov, with a bunch of T-bars, a non-detachable 4-seater, expansive views and plenty of school kids.

To the north is a sweet intermediate area served by another solitary 4-seater and T-bar.

Kids under 6 ski free; for up to 12 years old, CZK 500 (A$29)' for up to18 & over 60s CZK 680 (A$40); or adult high season day pass, it's only CZK 850 (A$50).

At the 1,019m summit of the Přední Žalý mountain is Horská bouda a rozhledna Žalý, an outstanding rustic restaurant adorned with taxidermic critters and a 130-year old stone lookout tower adorned with telco dishes. The last time I was here I smashed the most amazing spätzle (as good as any I’d eaten in Austria).

However, since old mate Covid, they’ve opted for a less ambitious menu and I devoured an excellent foot long sausage (klobasa) and a golden 0,5L Klášter Ležák (lager) all for $10.

The hut’s an easy 150m walk from the top of the chair through a flat section of forest and is popular with hikers, skiers and cross-country types alike. If nothing else, lunch at Žalý and a climb up the tower is well worth a trip to Herlíkovice.

More info:

- herlikovice.cz

- kibubakov.cz

- zaly.cz

Top left: Heated 6-pac lift, Špindlerův Mlýn. Bottom left: Příchovice village. Right side: Now that’s a beer sampler board! Hearty food & heartier beers at cheap rates make Poland & Czechia paradise for thirsty skiers. $10 lunch and beer.

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