Czantoria

Czantoria, photo: skionline.pl. Czantoria is the highest peak in the border range of the Silesian Beskids and the "first mountain" that visitors meet as they head up the Vistula valley. Its appeal to tourists has long been known: one of the oldest mountain huts in the region still stands below the summit (on the Czech side), and a two-seater chairlift, built partly with skiers in mind, opened here as early as 1967. Today this, the largest ski area in Ustroń, is also one of the most popular, thanks to a convenient location that lets visitors avoid traffic jams on winter weekends. The main axis of the resort is now a detachable four-seater chairlift, modernised, or rather practically rebuilt from scratch, in 2006, which climbs to the top of the Stokłosica clearing at 851 m. The ride on this fairly modern chair takes about 6 minutes. The lift serves two pistes: the red "number one", 1,900 m long, and blue piste no. 2, 2,600 m long. On the upper section of the "number one" there is also a 200 m red piste served by the Stokłosica button lift. Likewise, the upper part of the blue piste is served by the 670 m Faturka T-bar. Both lifts, built along the main pistes, are ideal for beginners and at the same time help to ease the traffic at the chairlift. On the lower section of the red piste there is also the 350 m Solisko button lift. This part of the piste has not only snowmaking, which was installed along the whole of piste no. 1 in the 2010/2011 season (30 lances and 8 cannons), but also lighting on both sides for evening skiing. The red piste is one of the most beautiful in the whole of the Beskids: despite its red marking it is quite steep, and it was recently (2013) levelled and reprofiled. Interestingly, along its entire length it is steeper than the famous black FIS piste on Skrzyczne! Few people realise that the piste itself (in a somewhat more modest form, of course) is almost twenty years older than the first lift: it was laid out in 1948 through the efforts of the Ski Section of the PTT (Polish Tatra Society) in Cieszyn. That makes it the oldest downhill piste in the Silesian Beskids. On the lower, gentle clearing, by the lower section of blue piste no. 2, a 250 m button lift awaits beginners. For children there is a conveyor lift that carries them comfortably and safely to the upper part of the clearing right next to the valley station of the Czantoria cable car (Kolej Linowa Czantoria). The SunKid ski kindergarten on the Polanka pod Czantorią runs 3-hour sessions for children that combine ski lessons with play at Figlo-Raj. Cross-country skiers have a total of 6 km of trails. A scenic 3 km trail for classic-style skiers runs over the Beskidek Pass. In the evening it is worth taking your cross-country skis to the riverside boulevards along the Vistula in Ustroń: the floodlit, well-prepared trails will appeal to beginners and seasoned skiers alike. Two licensed ski and snowboard schools operate at the resort: Zimorodek, combined with a rental shop, ski service and sports shop, and QBL, a training centre, plus a rental shop and service belonging to the Polska Grupa Wypożyczalni WinterGroup association. There is also plenty to eat and drink. At the "Pod Czantorią" inn you can try regional cuisine, while "Sielanka" offers a refined dinner, wines from its own cellar and comfortable, cosy rooms of a high standard. While at Czantoria it is worth heading to the summit itself, a kilometre from the top station of the lift. It is topped by a 29 m observation tower built by the Czechs in 2002. From there you get a superb panorama of the whole Silesian Beskids and of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids on the Czech side, while to the north the Oświęcim Basin spreads out at the foot of the mountains with its lakes and ponds, and in the distance you can see the chimneys of Silesian industrial plants. The Czantoria ski resort is without doubt one of the most interesting in this part of the Beskids. Thanks to its north-facing slopes the snow stays firm for quite a long time, which makes for very satisfying dynamic skiing. The drawbacks are overcrowding (in season you can spend a dozen or more minutes in the "queue for the lift") and, a not very creditable tradition, paid parking.