Czorsztyn-Ski

Czorsztyn-Ski. Lying on the southern edge of the Gorce, on the border with the Pieniny, Kluszkowce has been known for a dozen or so years as a popular ski resort, more often referred to as Czorsztyn-Ski. The lifts and pistes are on the slopes of Wdżar (769 m), a mountain with an unusual geology: it is made of volcanic rock (andesite), a real rarity in the flysch landscape of the Beskids. The first lifts were built here at the end of the 1990s, and the real breakthrough came with a two-seater chairlift in 2000. From then on the resort grew steadily, earning a very good reputation not only among skiing families with children but also among schools that train children and teenagers in competitive skiing. A second chairlift (a Tatrapoma four-seater) made it one of the largest and best-organised resorts in the Polish foothills of the Tatras, and joining the TatrySki joint ski pass has more recently strengthened that position further. The focal point of the resort is the summit of Wdżar, where all the lifts meet and from which the pistes radiate downhill. To the north runs a wide blue piste, ideal for beginners and for practising long, wide turns. Closer to the two-seater chairlift a much steeper red piste comes down, while the most difficult piste, also red, curves down alongside the four-seater. In total the resort has two chairlifts, two T-bars and two lifts specially for children, with a combined capacity of 4,300 people per hour. The pistes add up to more than 4.5 km, and the longest run is almost one and a half kilometres. The infrastructure is very good: there is a restaurant and a bar at the valley station and car parks, and more places to eat at the top. Naturally there is a ski hire shop, a ski service and ski schools. The extra attractions also deserve a mention: the "Alpine Coaster" toboggan run and a ski kindergarten. The mountain itself is another attraction: its slopes are full of quarries, as andesite was a prized building material. As a result, the chairlift ride up at times feels like flying over the rock walls and ravines of the old quarries. The view from the top is an attraction of its own and one of the finest in the Polish mountains; the Tatras look particularly beautiful from here, rising above the foothills of Spisz and Podhale. Czorsztyn-Ski is part of the TatrySki region, covered by a joint ski pass, which also includes Białka Tatrzańska, Jurgów, Czarna Góra Koziniec and Litwinka Grapa.