Reports Archive
Here are our snow and ski reports from past winters in chronological order starting from winter 2009/2010
WINTER 2009/2010
28th March – Mixed weather this week in Zakopane, we’ve had HOT sunny days followed by 2 very dull days. Ski areas are still open apart from Harenda, which is always first to close as it faces the sun and is very steep – not ideal for spring!! Still got our fingers crossed for even just a little bit more snow. We’ve still got a few guests left to come who we’ll look after whatever the weather! Gaz’s mum is here this week for a ski, we’ll get a photo of her skiing up on the site later this week when she’s fine tuned her skills!
21st March – The weather has changed a lot over the last four days. We had 2 fun days over in Jasna, Slovakia in bright sunshine and 2 warm sunny days back in Zakopane since, which has melted the snow around the town here. The slopes are all still covered but spring conditions are here. Lets hope we get another dump of snow before the month is up.
17th March – What a week! We’ve had fresh snow falling every day since our last update. On Kasprowy Wierch, there has been 65cm of fresh snow fall. Yesterday we were skiing in KNEE DEEP powder ON THE PISTE! That is a rare occasion that you find the usually pistedruns covered in deep snow! As it’s March there were hardly any people up there withus, almost a private mountain withfresh snow all day long! Days like that are when we absolutely love Poland and it can honestly be compared to anywhere else in the world. (We know what we’re talking about for any of you who doubt us!) There’s a photo of Gaz below standing on the piste, what a day, what a week! Fingers crossed for more of the same!
11th March – The snow is great! It has been absolutely FREEZING the last few days with clear blue bird days! Had an amazing time up on Kasprowy Wierch snowboarding on Tuesday (snow conditions were world class) followed by another amazing day in Jasna, Slovakia yesterday skiing andsnowboarding withour team all around the mountain. Photos below – only a couple as we were having too much fun to take many! It’s true, sorry! Sorry if you’re sat at work reading this but we’ve just woken up to see it snowing outside again today as well so things in Zakopane are good. 5cm and counting this morning!
7th March 2010 – Only 4 days since the last update but LOADS of snow to report here in Zakopane, bin lid is overflowing! We got 15cm on Friday (5th) a clear morning on Saturday and then started to snow in the afternoon. Just woken up Sunday morning and it’s been dumping all night and still going – big chunky soft flakes of snow! Shovels out, de-ice the car and off we go! POW POW! Photos will be taken today and added below tonight! For late season ski andsnowboard deals to Poland contact us now!
3rd March 2010 – Sunday February 28th was undoubtedly the strangest day in Zakopaneall winter! Strong winds blasted around the town on Saturday night andthe early hours of Sunday morning, which caused a large tree to fall on one of the town’s central power lines. We woke up Sunday morning to find that the whole of Zakopane had shut down! No shops were open, we had no internet, no tv, central ski lifts were closed, literall nothing moving! A strange morning but luckily by 3pm we were back up and running and by Sunday afternoon Zakopane was in full swing again! Well done to Tom and Gaz, who represented White Side Holidays well in a freestyle competition in Zakopane last week (read more). Snow wise we are looking good! Fresh snow has fallen slowly over the last 2 days, nothing huge but a couple of cms on the bin lid each morning! Spring time is near!!
21st February 2010 – A busy few weeks in Zakopane, sorry for the delayed update. We’ve had 2 great weeks of skiing, snowboarding andsledging (including 10 grown men proving your never to old for sledging) withguests joining us for the February Half Term week here in Poland. The weather was pretty cloudy last week with two beautiful sunny days in between. However, yesterday and last night we’ve had about 10cm of fresh snow fall, perfect timing for our guests arriving this week and current guests from Ride Our World(check them out)! A few sunny photos from last week below, thanks to all the guys who joined White Side Holidays, great to meet you all and hopefully see you again back in Zakopane! More photos in our guests gallery here.
4th February 2010 – A great week in Zakopane, snow, snowboarding, skiing and heaps of FUN! Happy to say we’ve been dusting snow off the bin lid regularly this week. It’s been snowing at night and the sun has been shining during the day, our guests this last week have been lucky enough to enjoythe perfect ski holiday weather! They were also happy to catch the North Face FreeskiingOpencompetition over the weekend with some of the best European freestyle skiers on show – photos below. – including 8 year old Estonian girl Kelly Sildaru – check her out on her website here – http://kellysildaru.com/ – Our hotel prices just dropped as well, 5* Hotel Litwor, Gold Package now from just £899 (£194 cheaper than 1 month ago!) – so an even better excuse to come and ski!
27th January 2010 – A cold and clear week in Zakopane, had another day over in Jasna, Slovakia just for fun – nice sunny weather there too. Today we found an old Polish Fiat car at a snow park near Zakopaneto play aroundon(some new photos in the gallery below). Weather forecast is saying possibly some snow this week although we’re hoping for a sunny weekend for The North face Polish Freeskiing Open, which is taking place at Harenda ski area in Zakopane.
22nd January 2010 – The last week has been crisp and cold, we’ve had a few small snowfalls but nothing to shout about. The World Cup Ski Jumpis in town this weekend – party atmosphere throughout Zakopane. Forecast this week is for more crisp weather and sunshine – can’t complain at that!
11th January 2010 – Not snowing at the moment, very strange weather. Global warming perhaps? (LOOKED OUTSIDE AFTER WRITING THIS – SNOWING!) Some snow forecast for this week though. Took a drive around some old places near the Polish/Slovakian border today, found an old practice ski jump! Photo in gallery below.
6th January 2010 – I’ll keep it simple. It’s still snowing and they are in negotiations to allow off piste skiing on Kasprowy Wierch. Fingers, toes, ski poles, everything crossed that they finally let people ski and snowboard where they want! If you’re on Facebook join the group Wolny Kasprowy to help put pressure on them to let us play off piste!
3rd January 2010 – Happy New Year! A delayed one but we’ve been busy on the slopes with our guests over the last week. A great time had by all, which included a mix of 6 different nationalities skiing here in Poland with us. Italian, French, Slovakia, Irish, English and Polish. The snow has started to fall again, that’s why I’m up early to clear the van and shovel the drive. 10cm on the bin lid this morning and still snowing. Lots of snow forecast this week!!
29th December 2009- Not a great deal of snow to report unfortunately, seems to be the way at the moment in many European ski resorts so fingers crossed for some more soon. The ski slopes are all open apart from Kasprowy, which is great news though. Lots of snow to come in the New Year hopefully!
18th December 2009- Today has seen the opening of areas with Szymoszkovaset to open tomorrow morning. It has been slowly snowing for the last 5 days withtemperatures around -10 degrees and not much sunshine in Zakopane, we are well and truly ready for winter skiing andsnowboarding in Poland! We’ve been working hard today (not Tom, he’s been skiing!) so not had a chance to hit the slopes but hopefully tomorrow we will get out there and have some snowy photos to upload.
13th December 2009 – It’s been getting colder and cloudier this last week and yesterday finally saw the first snowfall of winter in Poland (we already had some snow in October that melted). This morning at 10am there was 9.5 cm on the dustbin lid and it is still snowing gently outside! Looking at the ski area webcams last night they had all the snow cannons firing for the first time and a newsletter from Bialka ski area says they are looking to open next weekend – fingers crossed!
WINTER 2010/2011
25th April 2011 – Today is a good day to mark the end of winter in Zakopane. The annual “old school ski race”, which involves wooden skis and outfits is taking place this morning on Kalatowki, half way up the mountain side. Drinking and partying are more popular than skiing today but another winter has come to a close. Thanks to all who joined us in Zakopane over the winter, we look forward to seeing you again! Anybody interested in skiing or snowboarding here next winter – get in touch! See you next winter!!
26th March 2011 – We’ve had a week of sun and today it is snowing again! A crazy weekend here in Zakopane, Adam Malysz, Zakopane’s local world ski jumping champion is hosting a special farewell event as he draws the curtains on his career, which has included 92 podium finishes in world competitions. Thousands of people around the town with horns and flags supporting their hero! We’ve hidden from the town and stayed indoors all day where it’s quiet! You can now take a look at our short video of guests skiing with White Side Holidays Poland this last winter – just click here!
22nd March 2011 – We got some more snow on Sunday following last weeks rain and have had a couple of blue bird sunny days this week. There’s no more snow forecast at the moment but you never know! Bialka ski area is still in good condition for this time of year thanks to a large snow base built up over the winter by the snow cannons and should allow skiing through until Easter. We’re enjoying the sunshine and hopefully waiting for one last dump of snow!!!
17th March 2011 – Nothing but bad weather to report I’m afraid. A week of dull and cloudy days followed by the worst day of winter for the last 5 seasons with pouring rain all day, which meant we had a fun time quad biking and getting covered in mud instead of snowboarding today! Looking like an early finish to the season this year. Oh well, time to look forward to next winter!
10th March 2011 – A quick video as promised just to show that although the town webcams may be showing sunshine and green grass the slopes are all open and in good condition (this was the best clip to show sunshine, green fields and snow all in one shot!). The slopes have fantastic snow making facilities, which means they can build up large snow bases even when it’s not snowing so skiing is still guaranteed until the end of March at least. It has LITERALLY just started to snow again outside too!
7th March 2011 – Our guests over theweekend enjoyed clear blue skies and a slightly snowy drive back to Krakow yesterday. When we got back into Zakopane yesterday afternoon it was starting to drift with snow and it snowed through the night. It’s still snowing outside this morning and looks set to carry on for at least the next few hours. Fresh snow should ensure good conditions for our next few groups of guests arriving later this week. The new video camera is here so hopefully some video will be up in the next few days. Photo above from the car this morning.
1st March 2011 – Sorry for the delayed snow update over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been busy on the slopes! Conditions improved since the last update with a good 3 day snow fall from the 18th-21st February, which saw us perfectly through our busy half term week. Temperatures have risen again slightly through last week but we have all runs and ski areas still open. March is a good time in Zakopane too as the slopes get very quiet as the Polish school holidays are over! The forecast for the next few days is for sunshine so we’ll be out enjoying a few quiet and sunny days on the slopes! Hopefully going to buy a new video camera today in Krakow so maybe the next update will be a video clip!
8th February 2011 – All this talk of strange winter conditions around Europe has hit Poland this last week. After reporting on 5 days straight snow fall last week this week has seen every type of weather possible! We had 3 cold, bright and sunny days, which was great. This was followed by a day of warm wind and drizzle, which started to melt a lot of snow around the town (not on the slopes) and yesterday was like a spring day, t-shirts out around town, clear blue skies and strangely warm for mid-winter, which has left the streets and park in town looking very much like they do in spring. However, today the temperature has dropped, it has clouded over and now we are forecast for snow tomorrow! Who knows what we will wake up to in the morning, hopefully to snow, which is forecast! The slopes are still in fairly good condition considering the weather we’ve had and although we all love spring weather some cold and snowy days would be nice!
1st February 2011 – We enjoyed a week of snow last week with constant snow fall from Monday through to Friday, which was then followed by clear blue skies all weekend. The snow conditions on the slopes in and around Zakopane at the moment are fantastic. Fingers crossed for more snow over the next week or so. The forecast is for more clear days, which whilst we can’t complain about there’s always space for more snow!!!
23rd January 2011 – Christmas and New Year in Zakopane has been and gone for another year. There was snow around for everyone, and the recent dry spell has finally been put to bed with snow falling for 3 days straight now in Zakopane. You may have seen us on the TV at the weekend (21st-23rd January) on Eurosport as the World Cup Ski Jumping was in Zakopane. It looked as good close up as it did on TV with snow falling all day and night. We’ve had guests skiing in and around Zakopane and Slovakia and are looking forward to meeting more people over the coming weeks! Girls above in the photo were here for a long weekend and were enjoying a ski doo trip through the nearby forests one evening. Feel free to get in touch if you are interested in a trip to Zakopane!
November 2010 – THE SNOW IS BACK!
WINTER 2011/2012
25th March 2012 – March has just flown by. Sorry for the lack of updates on here, if you’re loooking for more regular updates on the snow front then our facebook page (Ski and Snowboard Poland) is updated much more frequently with photos and info. The weather in March has been great. Following all the snow we had in January and February we’ve been enjoying mostly sunny days over the last few weeks. The slopes are slowly winding down for winter and we’re expecting our final guests of winter 2011/2012 next week. Most slopes are still open with a couple of the smaller ski areas around Zakopane closed already for winter due to a lack of skiers using them. Our early bird ski deals are now open for anybody looking to book in for next winter! More information on the early bird deals can be found here.
29th February 2012 – A busy last couple of weeks with half term week and plenty of other guests who may or may not have been skipping school to come and join us in Zakopane! We’ve enjoyed lots of fresh snow again over the last 2 weeks and the slopes have been in fantastic condition. Last week we had 1 day of drizzling rain, which was a bit frustrating but it was followed up by 3 days of snow. Unfortunately it was drizzling again last night so the fresh snow on the streets has a wet look to it but with more snow forecast this week we should be in for a good spring! The slopes remain in good condition and there’s plenty more skiing and snowboarding to come next month!
5th February 2012 – Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! There’s not too much more to say about the last week! Temperatures plummeted down to as low as -30 degrees at night and around -20 during the day. A shock to the system but we’ve been lucky enough that there has been no wind to accompany the sudden cold spell and there have been clear blue skies every day. Yesterday the cloud returned and there was even a little bit of snow in the air. Fingers crossed for snow and slightly warmer temperatures this week!
28th January 2012 – The last 2 weeks have been fantastic again in Zakopane, we’ve had A LOT of snow and lots more fun with our guests. In the last 2 days the sun has finally come out to play so we’ve had the perfect blend of all the fresh snow that’s fallen over the last 3 weeks and glorious sunshine! We’ve got plenty of guests coming out to ski and snowboard in February and of course the half term holidays just around the corner!
12th January 2012 – Another busy couple of weeks here in Zakopane but the weather has got better and better in the last week or so. We’ve had a lot of snow falling in the last 5 days and the current forecast is for more of the same over the coming weekend. Kasprowy Wierch is fully up and running this winter and we were up there a couple of days ago enjoying half a metre deep fresh powder all day! Current snow conditions – PERFECT! We’ve still got space for you this winter so if you’re thinking about it then give us a shout and come and visit us in Zakopane!
1st January 2012 – We’ve had a busy start to the winter here in Zakopane so apologies for the lack of updates on here. Our guests so far this season have arrived from worldwide to ski and snowboard with White Side Holidays Poland. Our first guests of the year who joined us for a family Christmas ski holiday flew in from India and America whilst we’ve got guests all the way from Australia amongst our New Year groups of guests. We’ve enjoyed some light snow fall recently and all lifts are now open for skiing (except Kasprowy Wierch) so fingers crossed for a snowy new year!
8th December 2011 – The first ski lifts in Zakopane opened just over a week ago to start winter 2011/2012. There was a cold spell in which some of the ski areas around the town started to make snow and Szymoskowa and Bialka Tatranska ski areas managed to make enough snow to open up some of their lower runs. They have been making snow since then and this morning, the 8th December we’ve finally had snow fall through the night and Zakopane is looking white again with more snow forecast for the next few days. We’re hopefully going to head out to the slopes in the next few days and start our winter before our first guests arrive on the 20th for a family Christmas ski holiday in Zakopane.
20th October 2011 – The snow is back!
