Bystre Ski

Among the modest ski stations of the Bieszczady, the lift in the small settlement of Bystre, south of Baligród, is one of the most interesting and best-equipped small ski areas. Perhaps that is because the lift is part of the "Bystre" holiday and recreation centre (formerly the company holiday centre of the Zelmer factory in Rzeszów). It lies among high, densely forested, boldly shaped hills, where the Rabiański Potok flows into the Hoczewka, which tumbles over rock steps. A T-bar has been built by the centre on the slopes of Dzidowa (712 m), and beside it a piste that runs entirely along a forest cutting 30 to 40 metres wide. The slope is fairly steep with a uniform gradient, so the skiing is surprisingly rewarding given the length of the piste, a mere 900 metres. The slope is ideal for fast, dynamic skiing and is FIS homologated. In the lower, slightly gentler part of the slope there is a short T-bar for weaker skiers and beginners. The slope naturally has snowmaking and floodlighting. The centre has a ski service and hire shop and ski instructors, and its facilities are also worth noting: a pool, sauna and gym, better than at many a "fancier" ski resort. It is without doubt a good place to fit in some skiing during a winter holiday in the Bieszczady. The landscape around the centre is also worth noting: the mountains here are really steep and impressive for their modest height. They owe this to a geological structure somewhat different from the surrounding area: the mountains here are built of slightly older rocks, the so-called Bystre thrust slice. Not far from the centre there is a nature reserve protecting a natural block field, and in the Rabe valley there is an arsenic spring that could potentially allow a spa to be built here! A little further south, towards Cisna, lies Jabłonki, where General Świerczewski was killed in a skirmish with units of the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army), as a monument that still stands today records (the area is as scenic as the surroundings of Bystre).