I spent two very interesting (half)seasons back in 2003 and 2004, working for Finnish travel company www.elamysmatkat.com and guiding in Jasna, Slovakia. I spent around 11 weeks in Slovakia alltogether. Here I will tell you about my experiences in a 4 post series. I hope this can provide some useful information, maybe even correct some common misinformation, and at least just bring some stoke to go skiing and visit new places!

In this post I just give an introduction and some very general information. Two following posts are about Jasna ski resort.I will especially pay attention to off-piste possibilities in the Low Tatra range (which are excellent if the snow conditions allow BTW.) In the last post I will give you some more thoughts about the whole Tatra area in general and some tips about culture, nature attractions, other sports etc.

The western part of the Carpathian Mountains, Tatra, is most likely one of the less known Central European mountain range. The fact still is that the peaks of Tatra Mountains are the highest ones between the Alps and the Caucasus. The nature in the area is very unique. Often you hear the term “the smallest big mountains in the world” describing these “miniature Alps”. Only the glaciers are lacking.

Jasna ski resort is actually located a bit of south from the High Tatras, in a slightly smaller range called the Low Tatras . I generally refer to term Tatra when talking about Low Tatras too. There are some differences between the ranges but the general feel is pretty much the same (for a skier at least). Also, there are even more small mountain ranges in Slovakia that are very interesting too, especiall for other outdoor activities. I’d even state that the country as a whole has a huge unused (now growing) potential for tourism and/or outdoor sports. And yes, eventhough the mountains are not as high as in the Alps, the country is very mountaneous!

One might ask why Slovakia for skiing? To be honest it doesn’t fully compare to the biggest Alpine resorts if you only look for the figures. But there are factors that make the trip worthwhile: the price level, the nature and the culture to mention a few. And of course the snow. The amounts of it might vary a lot from year to year, though (d’oh). But the fact that there’s about a thousand kilometres distance to any sea cost from the Tatras, can make for a very dry and enjoyable powder snow – one of the most pleasing suprises that Slovakia offered to me. It’s also often pretty cold in the Tatras. The fact I love. Yes, I love cold, real winter and the light snow it offers. Skiing the trees in a snowstorm at about -15 celcius degrees while the snow just fluffs everywhere is something you dream about in these ages of the dreaded climate change…

I will tell you more about the skiing and Jasna ski resort in later posts. But here some teasing for starters:

Check out my pictures below.

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