Czorsztyn-Ski Resort in Kluszkowce

On two rocks just below the summit of Wdżar, a compass needle can swing almost all the way round. These magnetic anomalies are one trace of the magma that forced its way into the local sandstone and shale millions of years ago. On the northern and western slopes of the hill (766–767 m) lies the Czorsztyn-Ski resort, marketed as the "Land of the Sleeping Volcano": two chairlifts, about 4.5 km of slopes and views over Lake Czorsztyn, the Pieniny Mountains and the Tatras.

The sleeping volcano – where the name comes from

Wdżar is built of flysch rock into which magma intruded twice during the Miocene, creating more than a hundred small intrusions of Pieniny andesite, a rock that is exceptional in the Polish Carpathians. Calling the hill a volcano, though, is a marketing device: there is no evidence that a volcano ever stood here. Andesite was quarried as early as 1873–1877 and on a larger scale from 1928; between the wars the company that owned the hill employed some 400 people and, according to the resort, was the largest business in the Podhale region. Quarrying continued until the 1970s, and many houses in Kluszkowce are faced with stone from Wdżar.

Lifts and slopes

• Chairlift A – four-seater, about 550 m long with a 150 m vertical rise, carrying 2,400 people an hour.
• Chairlift B – two-seater, also about 550 m.
• A button lift (about 460 m) plus short children's lifts on the nursery slopes.

The runs, about 4.5 km in total, are blue and red, with snowmaking, floodlighting and daily grooming. Two red runs are FIS-homologated, so races are held here. The ski school also offers monoski courses for people with disabilities, and some instructors are experienced in working with autistic children.

A short history

The first T-bars and the first floodlit, snow-covered runs opened on 22 January 2000, and the first chairlift on 18 January 2001. In October 2010, in an EU co-funded project, a second chairlift opened along with an educational trail in the old quarry. Since the 2011/2012 season the resort has been part of the joint Podhale lift pass, today called Tatry Super Ski (19 resorts, 118 runs).

Summer and interesting facts

In summer the chairlift takes visitors to the top, and on the western slope runs an alpine coaster: 1,000 m long, with an 84 m drop and speeds of about 35–40 km/h. In the old quarry a nature trail leads through the Papal Gorge – Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II, celebrated Mass here during a meeting of the Oasis youth movement, and an obelisk and a stone altar stand in the gorge. Thanks to the andesite, Wdżar is home to the fern Asplenium adulterinum – its only site in Poland.

Tripto tip

The resort is at ul. Kamieniarska 30A in Kluszkowce (Czorsztyn municipality), on regional road 969. Parking for guests is free and right next to the lifts. Tatry Super Ski passes are sold at the resort's ticket desks; lift hours change with the season and the weather, so check them on czorsztyn-ski.com.pl. At the top there is the Bacówka restaurant with a viewing terrace, and the magnetic rocks lie a little south of the summit – bring a compass. Nearby, the ruins of Czorsztyn Castle and the castle in Niedzica are worth a visit.