Skiing in the Tatra Mountains

Zakopane is Poland's oldest and most alpine ski base: only here does a cable car carry skiers to almost 2,000 m above sea level, with descents through the glacial cirques of Tatra National Park. Besides Kasprowy Wierch there are slopes in town – Nosal with its famous "K" run and Gubałówka with its funicular. This guide helps you pick the right place for your level and explains where Zakopane's skiing legend comes from.

Kasprowy Wierch: a cable car from 1936

The company that built the line, popularly known as Linkolkasprowy, was founded on 24 July 1935, and work on site began on 1 August. The driving force was Aleksander Bobkowski, then deputy transport minister and president of the Polish Ski Association. Construction took just 227 days – some 600 people worked on it, rising to 1,000 in the last two months. The first car reached the summit on 15 March 1936.

The cable car is 4,252 m long and climbs 936 m in two sections, with a change at Myślenickie Turnie. The top station stands at 1,959 m, 26 m below the summit. After a thorough modernisation it reopened on 15 December 2007 with new Doppelmayr cars travelling at up to 8 m/s.

The Goryczkowy and Gąsienicowy cirques

Two skiing worlds start at the top. In the Gąsienicowy cirque a sled lift was already running in 1938; a chairlift replaced it in 1962, and since 18 December 2000 a four-seater has carried 2,400 people per hour. In the Goryczkowy cirque a two-seat chairlift opened on 14 December 1968 – it is 1,624 m long with a 602 m vertical. These are runs for confident skiers: high-alpine and dependent on weather and snow conditions.

Nosal: the legendary "K" run

The first ski run on Nosal was marked out in 1953, and a lift was built in 1956–1957. From the top runs the "K" run, regarded as the steepest piste in Poland – over the first 200 metres the gradient exceeds 37%. On 6 March 1974 it hosted a World Cup slalom, won by Spain's Francisco Fernández Ochoa ahead of Gustav Thöni. The resort has about 3 km of runs, all with snowmaking, floodlights and grooming, plus a ski school and rental shop.

Gubałówka

The funicular to Gubałówka opened on 20 December 1938 after 168 days of construction, and in 2001 all of its technology was replaced, almost doubling capacity to 2,000 people per hour. At the top there is a ski area with runs on the Gubałówka meadow and a snowpark. Skiing down to the lower funicular station is currently not possible because of land disputes on the slope.

Tripto tips

Go up Kasprowy early, ideally on a weekday, as the cable car's capacity is capped by Tatra National Park limits. Only ski the cirques in good visibility – fog and wind change conditions quickly. For learning and family skiing, Nosal and the town slopes are a better fit, and in the evening Nosal's floodlit runs. Check current hours, prices and piste conditions on the operators' websites before you set off.