Ski and Snowboard - Poland 09/10 season (updated: 10/11 season)

I always find myself pretty depressed this time of year so round about this time i start thinking about ski resorts and snowboarding to help ease the fact that winter is upon us and grab some well deserved play time.

At the moment all the resorts near me are still green with no snow at all, however i have been checking the forecasts and it looks as though we have plenty of snow/sleet/rain coming over the next couple of weeks. Any land over 500m above sea level should see snow and sufficient temperatures to keep it there for the resorts to kick off. I reckon 40-60 cm of snow would be enough, well probably need a meter plus for there to be enough to begin building the kickers and half pipes.

Any way i thought i would start this thread for anyone who has knowledge of what resorts are open/opening and general ski and snowboarding in Poland.

I have uploaded a couple of vids i took last season from the resort of Zieleniec. Hopefully more to come as and when i film them.



The road to Zieleniec, its in very good condition and not steep at all.



The resort of Spindlerun Mlyn on the Czech side of the Karkonose mountain range (near Karpacz) has an impressive snow park planned this year, Pic below:

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  snowpark_SV2.jpg
  

Good Thread,

The whole time I was in Poland I only managed to get to the slopes once for Boarding.
This year I'm going to have to satisfy myself with Scotland :/ Just not the same.

I usually go skiing/snowboarding in the south of Poland in Białka Tatrzańska.
It is towards Zakopane from Krakow. Here is a video I took at the beginning of this year: youtu.be/d3mKwYJorv0

Skiing/snowboarding is the best fun you can have with your clothes on :)

As a Scandinavian in Poland I must check the skiing opportunities.

Is the capacity still low in Zakopane? Meaning more waiting than skiing. I'm thinking primarily about February.

To be honest I don't know, I don't go to Zakopane for that exact reason.
The place I go is usually fine.
You must let me know if you are around this neck of the woods :)


I learned how to ski in Scandinavia, no instructor, no small slop, "So I start down here and figure out what to do?" "Nie, du must go top and figure out on the way down" hahahaha that was a crash course

:)

To be honest I really want to check out Slovakia this winter but perhaps that can wait for a different thread.

Ahh there he goes showing off his ability to edit videos again, i thought you were a snowboarder but the shadow is that of a skier!! great sound track BTW.

Thanks :)
Will give you the program next time I see you, if you have your laptop.
"Zoombrowser" from Canon, very easy to use, very difficult to get off the net, strange thing about that is, it comes free with the camera (I know I know, I paid for it but not reallllllly)


I messed up last year, I thought my feet were not at the right angle, so I changed it and now it is mash up. I will try to get it right this season.

I never went for lessons in snowboarding either, probably know only bad habits at this stage.
It was almost the first thing I did when I came here 8/9 years ago, bought a second hand snowboard and waited for the snow.
They give lessons in Białka Tatrzańska (in English) but I am far too stubborn to do that at this stage :p


Edith Piaf.


Me too and I am with you, the snow is something to look forward to, well the sliding down it part anyway :)

I will :)


The classic way.. hehe.

What on the snowboard? did you think you were supposed to be Goofy (right foot foreward) or the opposite. Heres a trick stand up with your feet at a relaxed position, get someone to push you from behind, what ever foot you put forward first to stop yourself falling is the one that you lead on a snowboard with. It always feels unnaturtal at first but that is the way to tell 100%. As for binding setup, the front foot should be +15 and the back +3, thats the standard. If youve got size 12's or above and a wide board is not wide enough try a duck feet set up, +15 on the front and -15 on the back. All binding base plates have the angles on them, go with that and youll be doing everything you should, the rest is up to the rider.

Any questions form whome ever i can probably answer them.

Dear Wroclaw Boy,

I am right footed, which foot ought to go first on a snowboard?


I am a size 13 or 14 depending, what is a duck feet set up?


Cool :)

Two things put on a pair of slippery socks and run and pull a bad boy skid accross the floor, what foot leads, leads the snowboard. Failing that relax and stand up straight, get someone to push you from behind, what ever foot goes out first is your lead foot on the board.


Duck feat is two feet planted on the ground at equal distances apart from each other, ie heels facing inward and toes outward to combat the board being to narrow to fit big feet. Look at a duck and how theyre feet are, thats basically it. However many branded snowboards have "wide" products to cover big footed buggers like yourself, the standard set up is +15 on the front +3 on the back, if your toes fall over the edge of the board dont worry about it till it becomes a problem, you need to be carving at serious angles (feet touching the snow) for this to affect your riding and by that time you could change the angles without too many problems. Besides many binding products have adjustments which can be made with a screw driver to help balance out the issue.

Ah okay, I understand.


My board is big enough my toes are fine on the board, thanks.

Its common to think the foot youre leading with is wrong, but trust me the above is correct and even if you change the lead foot youll porobably go back at some point, but try it. Many right footed people are goofy (right foot first), i can board both ways but my left foot forward is by far the strongest.

Plesae anyone keep the questions coming.

Any recommendations for a place for an absolute beginner to learn how to snowboard, without being full of screaming brats and their neurotic mothers?

A hill near bye!

Any learning slope within any given ski resort is unlikely to be full of the above. Just goto a resort higher a snowboard, boots and bindings and off you go. Lessons will be around 60 PLN / hour i expect. I can teach how to snowboard in local resorts within Dlonoslaskie.

Most people prefer to put the left foot in the front.

It's rather painful to learn snowboarding, and then you can't sit down for a day.

But my recommendation is to exercise the muscles of the lower part of the leg (Gastrocnemius etc) before going. You will thank me.

Enjoy!

I have posted this link before, might be worth checking out...GoneBoarding

That's it exactly, I had not snowboarded for a few years, living in another country.
And when I went back to it, it felt wrong, so after a while I changed it and now it is definitely wrong. Back to the drawing board.


Yep, it attacks your calf muscle if it is on the wrong way.


I agree with WB on the hill.
I think you can get basic tips and tricks of youtube and the like.
I find snowboarding less 'dangerous' than skiing, with skies, especially in the beginning, if they are flat and not parallel you do the splits or criss-cross and if you travel at speed and your ski weight adjustment isn't right, you can break a leg.

Whereas with snowboarding you have both feet rigidly strapped to one board.
And also you can turn the snowboard around while moving with much more ease.

But after beginner level, skiing is easier.

We need some inspiration in the shape of an awesome youtube vid.

My biggest problem is in stopping the board. I found out the hard way that digging the board in at speed only led to be collapsing rather quickly. How can I stop smoothly?

In the beginning it was turning I found hard, though a few crashes later I "learnt".
First time I done boarding was in high school on a school trip. The instructor was crazy and made a bet that one of us wouldn't dare go up a half pipe. So my mate did, right up over the top of it and broke his wrist :D

I knew a guy who broke his hip. I'm glad I didn't see that. That's just nasty! There's a good place here called Szczyrk, it's more for intermediates and below but it has the giant slope Golgota which puts most to the sword.

I am not try to. be funny here but just sit down, it worked for me at the beginning.
Or turn until you are perpendicular to the slope and remember to dig the back of the snowboard into the snow causing the most friction, if you don't you'll flip face first in to the snow :)

I control my speed by zig-zaging down the slope.

But maybe someone else has another way or a better way.



The first time I ever went down No. 12 (black line???) a girl broke her leg behind me.
It was sooo steep I had no choice but to jump on my belly, with arms and legs in skies up in the air and slide down.

Its easier to get up on skis and get down the mountain, its almost like roller skating, boarding is an exact science it takes a lot of pain (sore ass) and dedication to be able to link turns, once you link that first turn everything slots into place. Skiing is more technical and takes longer to get really good at.


Sounds like your catching edges that you diont want to be catching. Collapsing rather quickly is the only way to stop for anybody that doesnt know how to stop. Ive been there and done it, luckily when i was learning it was powder city, soft snow everywhere so it didnt hurt at all, i was just laughing my head off.


Its difficult to explain but its all about weight ratio and confidence. Similar to a spray stop in ice skating. So lets say your boarding along in a curved line and you want to stop, simply lean in and stiffen the line, feel confident in the way your leaning and that its counteracting with the board, everything feels balanced, keep leaning and turning and the board will stop. Learner boarders should never have the board flat at all, always stay on an edge, if not youll catch an edge and the result will be face or ass plant.

The real key is learning when to switch edges, from heel to toe and vica versa, master that and youve nailed it. No one can really tell you when you just feel it and it takes confidence to make the move. Switching from heel to toe feels alien to begin with, but master it once and youve got it albeit with a few sore knees.

Heel edge is always more comfortable when starting out but your toe edge will become the more favoured side by far. More traction on the calfs and quads you see, heel edge only relies on the quads.

Sitting down is not always by conscious choice ;) ;) I seem to pick up speed all too easily but I don't turn enough.

I feel a PF skiing/snowboarding weekend coming on...?

Seanus stand up on your board paralell to the bottom of the mountain, keep it that way and do the falling leaf as they say. Turn your body one way and then the other making gental falling leaf motions down the mountain, no kamikaze board heading straight down at all. Do that on your heel edge and then your toe edge, for a couple of runs. Familiarise the egdes, then you may be ready for some linked turns.

Good advice, I gained so much momentum that I was lucky to bail out without serious injury. I seem to catch those ice patches which makes stopping a nightmare. I think I'd have more confidence if fewer people were on the slope.

Yes well theres not a lot you can do about that except avoid them.

Sometimes you can see the bare patches but some cocky ass comes shooting up behind you and gives you very little room for evasive maneuvers. I guess I could compare it to doing the back crawl in swimming. Unless I have the pool to myself, I don't do it because some buffoon crosses your path.

It took for ever to upload but heres me hitting a kicker: