You don’t need to surf the web anymore. I have a solution for you. You will be heading to Slovakia! Why on Earth? There are many good reasons to ski in Slovakia. Let me tell you few good ones. This article gives you five good reasons to go skiing in Slovakia, specifically in Jasna in High-Tatry Mountains. Reasons below are not in any kind of order. Each reason is as important as any other in this list.

Reason #1: It’s Very Cheap to Ski in Slovakia

Slovakia is pretty cheap country, which naturally means skiing in Slovakia is also cheap. If you are looking for a budget ski holiday package, take a look at Slovakia ski trips. Flights are cheaper, but cost savings can especially be seen in the prices of beer and other drinks as well as ski equipment rents. Let’s have some real examples of prices.

Not too shabby!

Reason #2: Easy Access to Slovakia

It is very easy to go skiing in Slovakia. You can flight to Bratislava and other cities from a number of European big cities. Just forget flying from London to North America. Instead you can fly to Slovakia in the morning and go skiing in the afternoon!

Reason #3: Slovakia Provides an Interesting Culture

Slovakia provides a very interesting Eastern-European culture for you to enjoy. The Eastern-European architecture of houses and people provide you a little different skiing experience. In Slovakia you can see the big difference between welfare in Bratislava and ordinary life in the countryside. Being in Slovakia is definitely great if you are even little interested in Eastern-European cultures. In case you really hate Eastern-European cultures, I recommend you Gstaad in Switzerland.

Reason #4: There is No Need To Hurry in Slovakia

Would you like to ski fresh powder with no hurry and no fighting in a lift-line? He he… It can easily be like that in France, as I have few true stories of “powder morning rush hour”. In Slovakia you can drink your coffee and eat your breakfast without any hurry with being afraid that in one hour all the powder is gone. Take it relaxed in Slovakia, enjoy your life and go skiing powder with no hurry. Why is it like that? Because Slovakia is not as popular as France when it comes to skiing, and there are not too many people around.

Reason #5: Because it is Different!

Go skiig in Slovakia because it is different! Do something different this year; don’t go to Chamonix, St. Anton or Badgastein again. Instead go skiing in Slovakia. For more read our article series of skiing in Slovakia.

Accommodation in Jasna ski resort in Slovakia

Jasna has no clear village, just hotels located pretty randomly near the ski lifts and/or along the beautiful Demanovska Dolina valley. When I was guiding in Jasna ski resort we stayed at a relatively cheap Mikulaska Chata, near Otupne lift station. Very recommended our customers a cosy little hotel/hostel with all the basic services. (“Chata” means “hut”/”cottage” in Slovak but can basically be anything from a real mountain hut to a motel level accommodation. “Hotels” on the other hand are the ones with bars, lounges, restaurant, swimming pool – one could say anything with a status “Hotel” is pretty high standard in Slovakia!)

Jasna ski resort has a few very high standard hotels, e.g. Tri Studnicky, Hotel Grand and maybe a bit older/lower level Hotel Junior. All those are recommend. Hotel Sverma (this is for you looking the original seventies “East Block” feel!) and Hotel Liptov are clearly of the lower level, although cheaper too. The biggest hotels are owned by the same company that runs the lifts – so you get valuable packages “all included” (accommodation, food, lift tickets). Anyway, prices are on the rise, and it is recommended to check out the smaller hotels/hostels for even better prices/offers. It is hard to find a comprehensive list of Jasna/Nizke Tatry accommodation but here’s a few (also including some from High Tatra region):

http://www.tatry.net/accommodation/hotels

http://www.nizketatry.sk/ubytovanie/ubytovanie/ubytovanie.html#ddol

http://www.jasna.sk (click “accommodation”)

Skiing in Jasna

If you want to get good groomer skiing, get up early and head for the first lifts. Especially during the high season (first three weeks of February) lift lines can be long. My favorite trail is the FIS GS Slope from Rovna Hola to Zahradky. Too bad Zahradky is also clearly the most crowded down station. Still, we had a few very nice groomer SG/GS sessions on the FIS slope on several mornings. Generally the skiing can be pretty hectic due to crowds and/or quite mad slope action (=people going straight down with no control!) – a very good reason to head for the off-piste though…

Dining and night life in Jasna ski resort

All the hotels offer western standard food (Austria/Germany would be good comparison). Price level is very reasonable too. Hotel Tri Studnicky is the most expensive but also very gourmet. Local game food like deer and wild boar were my favorites!

On the slopes a very good option is to head for Koliesko. Best value (and the most greasy!) slope-side restaurant food I’ve ever had, and a very cosy atmosphere. For dining and just taking it easy Bar Peklo along Mikulasska Chata is recommended, nice small and larger snacks, good food, nice staff. This was the favourite hang out for Finns in the early evenings or on those evenings when you just wanted to “take it easy” (yeah right… knowing the drinking habits of our natives). By the way, “Peklo” means “Hell” in Slovak; no wonder this was the place for the Finns!

For even more options head for the town Liptovsky Mikulas down the valley. Busses will commute regurarly through the day between Jasna resort and the town. Also, taking a cab won’t drive you into a bankcrupt.

Town Liptovsky Mikulas in Jasna ski resort

The night clubs of the Hotels are where to go in the evenings. Back in 2003 and 2004 Junior Hotel and Hotel Grand had the best crowds and even some nice dj’s and theme parties now and then. The town of Liptovsky Mikulas is also a place to check out, and a good place to meet locals the vibe there is more mellow and not typical “ski-resort” at all. In Jasna you could basically be anywhere… well, almost… there are a few minor details like strippers in Hotel’s night clubs that make a difference.

One of the best natural resources in Slovakia. Oh, and how could I forgot: the local beer is good and cheap. Some say Czech beer is alot better but I couldn’t complain. Be ware of the local poisons – Borovicka and Slivovica… hangovers can be furious!

To be continued in the next (4th) part of the series.

In this post I will discuss the lift systems, slopes and off-piste skiing in the Jasna ski resort area. In the next post I will give some practical tips of what it pays to do (IMHO) and what not to do at the Jasna ski resort. The last post of the series includes more thoughts about Slovakia and skiing in Slovakia in general.

Jasna ski resort is probably the most developed ski resort in Slovakia. Jasna has vertical meters of about 1100 meters (~3300 feet) and a quite modern lift system with four-person Doppelmayer lifts. The new Poma lift offers ride to the top of the Chopok mountain, linking two previously separated ski resorts of Chopok-South and Chopok-North. This gives the skier in Jasna ski resort a lot more options as e.g. the snow situation can vary a lot between the two sides of the mountain (mainly due to current wind direction). Anyhow, before the new lift (pre-2007) you had to hike some 170 meters of vertical to the top, which most people cared not to do – leaving plenty of seldom-skied off-piste possibilities. The good news, as heard from a friend that spent five weeks in Jasna last winter, is that locals still don’t rush to the off-piste in large masses.

The top lift basically allows you to get on the Low Tatra (Nizke Tatry) ridge and hike horizontally along the ridge – giving plenty of possibilities for nice backcountry skiing both sides of the Ridge in Jasna. North facing aspect even has some really steep (~50 degrees) shortish chutes/couloirs of about 250 meters or 700~800 feet of vertical. Beware of the conditions and rocks though! South side offers mellower and longer descents, often in more “corn” type of snow, given its aspect towards the sun.

Jasna ski resort has even officially named freeride zones (see map 1 and map 2). Officially you are only allowed to ski in these “zones” outside of the slopes. Other parts of the ridge belong to the national park and are protected. However, we never got any attention/notes for exploring the ridge further. You also see some local ski tourers here and there. But please pay attention and respect the nature: in the ridge line you often see wonderful Tatra Chamois, of which only about 250 still exists in the whole Tatra area (and in the whole world of course!). I really hope the growing tourism and ski area will not disturb the peace of those beautiful creatures or the whole high mountain biotype of the ridge. I see some more regulation coming in the future as an obligatory way to protect the very small and fragile area. So, go now, respect the locals, don’t leave any trash/other marks behind you, and move fast…

In this first post I will just give an introduction with some very general information about skiing in Jasna, Slovakia. The two following posts are about the 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 of this article series I will give you some more thoughts about the whole Tatra area in general and some tips on culture, natural attractions, other sports, etc.

The western part of the Carpathian Mountains, Tatra, is most likely one of the least-known Central European mountain ranges. The fact nonetheless is that the Tatra Mountains has the highest peaks 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 glaciers are lacking.

Jasna ski resort in Slovakia is actually located a bit of south of the High Tatras, in a slightly smaller range called the Low Tatras . I generally use the term Tatra when talking about the 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 other small mountain ranges in Slovakia that are very interesting too, especially for other outdoor activities. I’d even go so far as to say that the country as a whole has a huge, unused (though now growing) potential for tourism and/or outdoor sports. And yes, even though the mountains are not as high as the Alps, the country is very mountaneous!

One might ask why Slovakia for skiing? To be honest, it doesn’t fully compare to the TOP 10 ski resorts if you only look for the figures. But there are factors that make the trip worthwhile: the low price level, the nature, and the culture, just to mention a few. And of course the snow. The amount of snow in Slovakia might vary a lot from year to year, though (duh). But the fact that there’s about a thousand kilometres of distance to any sea coast from the Tatras can make for very dry and enjoyable powder snow – one of the most pleasant suprises that Slovakia offered me.

It’s often pretty cold in the Tatras, which is a fact I love. Yes, I love cold, real winter and the light snow it offers. Skiing the trees in a snowstorm at about -15 degrees celcius while the snow just fluffs everywhere is something you dream about in these days of dreaded climate change…