Polish Ski Bargains
Winter 2010
Watching the Winter Olympics in Vancouver is a bit like watching the start of a vintage Bond movie, over and over again, but the skiers in the movies are better because they never fall unless they are shot or tripped up by Roger Moore. Indeed Sir Roger is probably sitting at home in Gstaad watching his telly thinking “if only I were 20 years younger….”
When the skiing season starts my friend Max begins every conversation by mumbling pseudo-modestly about muddling down most things. Having watched Didier Defago and co move down a mountain at 75mph, I suspect he does.
I’m sure the Olympic Committee are relieved that the Luge has now passed without further tragedy although it does seem that lying on your back on a Luge is a more exciting way of earning a living than following the world’s oldest profession.
As Canada hogs the limelight we all aspire to do great things on the chilly white ice but there are two issues to deal with – cost and embarrassment. So where do you go to practice for your Gold Medal in 2014?
Why not stay well clear of the current competition and travel east towards Russia where the action will be in four years time. Poland offers probably the least expensive skiing on the planet. It may be in Europe but it’s not in the Euro and the Polish Zloty has favoured the Brits in recent months. A double room with breakfast can be secured in Zakopane, Poland’s top ski resort for under £500 a week. Don’t expect fine cuisine – Burger King and McDonalds now offer the staple diet of this seventeenth century forest town and the architecture includes a few communist carbuncles, but the skiing is world class.
There are 50 ski lifts around Zakopane, which, at over 1000m is Poland’s highest ski resort, and with an abundance of black and red runs Zakopane more than caters for the experienced skier.
There are six other major ski areas in Poland with Szklarska Poreba, probably the most popular. None are as high as Zakopane so there are potentially issues with snow levels at times during the season although most are able to augment snow supplies with snow cannons when necessary.
Getting there isn’t too much of a problem as Ryanair and Easyjet fly to a number of destinations in Poland. So if you fancy training for that Olympic gold but don’t want to stretch your budget or attract too much attention to your snow skills, go on line and check out Poland.
When the skiing season starts my friend Max begins every conversation by mumbling pseudo-modestly about muddling down most things. Having watched Didier Defago and co move down a mountain at 75mph, I suspect he does.
I’m sure the Olympic Committee are relieved that the Luge has now passed without further tragedy although it does seem that lying on your back on a Luge is a more exciting way of earning a living than following the world’s oldest profession.
As Canada hogs the limelight we all aspire to do great things on the chilly white ice but there are two issues to deal with – cost and embarrassment. So where do you go to practice for your Gold Medal in 2014?
Why not stay well clear of the current competition and travel east towards Russia where the action will be in four years time. Poland offers probably the least expensive skiing on the planet. It may be in Europe but it’s not in the Euro and the Polish Zloty has favoured the Brits in recent months. A double room with breakfast can be secured in Zakopane, Poland’s top ski resort for under £500 a week. Don’t expect fine cuisine – Burger King and McDonalds now offer the staple diet of this seventeenth century forest town and the architecture includes a few communist carbuncles, but the skiing is world class.
There are 50 ski lifts around Zakopane, which, at over 1000m is Poland’s highest ski resort, and with an abundance of black and red runs Zakopane more than caters for the experienced skier.
There are six other major ski areas in Poland with Szklarska Poreba, probably the most popular. None are as high as Zakopane so there are potentially issues with snow levels at times during the season although most are able to augment snow supplies with snow cannons when necessary.
Getting there isn’t too much of a problem as Ryanair and Easyjet fly to a number of destinations in Poland. So if you fancy training for that Olympic gold but don’t want to stretch your budget or attract too much attention to your snow skills, go on line and check out Poland.
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
