Ski&Sun

Photo: J.Ciszak/skionline.pl. One of the most beautiful spa towns in the Sudetes has long attracted not only patients looking to restore their health but also skiers. Skiing here was fairly low-key, but at its peak there were more than seven lifts, including one, Świeradowiec, among the longest in the country. Unfortunately, after the change of political system and under strong competition from Czech resorts, which did not miss their chance and modernised step by step from the mid-'90s, Świeradów lost its importance and saw few visitors, mainly local skiers. Change came only in 2008, when a Doppelmayr gondola, the most modern in Poland, was built on the slopes of Stóg Izerski, bringing local skiers at least partly into the world of Alpine standards. The gondola climbs 440 metres of vertical over a distance of more than 2 km. The drawback is that only one piste has been laid out, 2.5 km long, easy at the top and a little steeper lower down. The piste is wide and very well profiled. Its floodlighting is probably the best in the country, which makes night skiing here especially spectacular. Development plans include more pistes, but so far no specific dates or detailed plans have been made public, so a wait of many years seems likely. At the top, on the summit of Stóg Izerski, there is a mountain hut with a modest restaurant and rooms, while the gondola's valley station has a restaurant, a bar and a rental shop. Skiers can also rely on the restaurants and accommodation of the spa town, a kilometre from the gondola car parks. Unfortunately the car parks charge a fee, which jars with the resort's modern character. Świeradów itself has five more lifts, of which only Kamieniec and Izery are longer than 450 metres. All have easy pistes, good for beginners or children.