Pec pod Sněžkou

Until recently the largest Czech ski resort was Špindlerův Mlýn. But since five ski resorts in the eastern Krkonoše joined forces, they have become the largest ski resort in the Czech Republic and the third largest in Central Europe (after Bukovel in Ukraine and Jasná in Slovakia). Since the 2013/14 season the two largest of them have been physically linked: you can now travel on skis between Černá hora and Pec. Linking these two resorts with a joint ski pass, later joined by the smaller resorts of Černý Důl, Svoboda nad Úpou and Velká Úpa, created the largest ski arena in the Czech Republic, which now has more than 41 km of downhill pistes and 39 lifts (including five chairlifts and one gondola) with a capacity of more than 38,500 people per hour. The most modern area is Černá hora (1,299 m). Its pride is a modern gondola called the Černohorský Express. The eight-seater cabins cover more than 2.3 km in seven minutes and can carry 1,500 people an hour. Practically all the pistes start from just below the summit, running down fairly wide cuttings through spruce forest. On the resort maps they are marked red, and one even partly black, but in reality some of them also suit beginners. In 2015 the fastest detachable 6-seater chairlift in the Czech Republic, Hofmanky Express, opened here; it is the first step towards linking Černá hora with Černý Důl. Černý Důl lies a few kilometres west of Janské Lázně and can be reached by free ski bus. It is a very good place for families with children. It has two 3-seater chairlifts and four T-bars, and the pistes are shorter and easier than on Černá hora. It is also much less crowded. In the opposite direction, free ski buses run from the gondola's valley station in Janské Lázně to Pec pod Sněžkou. On the way you pass a small beginners' area in Svoboda nad Úpou, and further up the valley you reach Velká Úpa, where on the right there is a 3-seater chairlift with a total of 3 km of pistes beside it, mostly red. You can also get to Pec pod Sněžkou on the specially marked “SkiTour” route, where short uphill sections are covered by special vehicles. Pec has several interconnected ski areas. On Javor, two T-bars serve wide red pistes. Next door, on Zahrádky, there is a 4-seater chairlift and several T-bars with blue and red pistes. The finest area is Hnědý vrch, with a four-seater chairlift and the best pistes in the whole complex. Here you will find a beautiful red run and its black variant: short but very steep, a real wall for advanced and brave skiers only. And on the summit itself, do not miss the tall lookout tower with the finest all-round panorama in the area. The whole offer is rounded off by more than 90 km of groomed cross-country trails in the area.