Illustrative photo – Skiers in the Špindlerův Mlýn area, December 10, 2022.
Prague – Warming in recent days is complicating the situation, especially for lower-lying ski areas in the Czech Republic, some have suspended operations due to the loss of snow. They are waiting for colder weather forecast to arrive this weekend to allow them to make technical snow again. According to the operators, the conditions for skiers are still good in the mountain resorts, ČTK found. Cross-country skiers can only hit the tracks in the highest parts of the mountains.
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Photo gallery: Winter weather 2022/23
The Špindlerův Mlýn complex is in full operation in the Giant Mountains. You can ski there on almost 26 kilometers of slopes with 25 to 70 centimeters of snow. SkiResort Černá hora – Pec offers skiers in six resorts 45 kilometers of slopes with up to 80 centimeters of snow. Roughly a third of the tracks operate in Rokytnica nad Jizerou, and there is also a cable car to Lysá hora. “The attendance is good, around 2,000 people a day, given that it should be freezing, so we are ready to start snowing again as soon as it is even a little possible,” said Renata Balašová, spokeswoman for the area.
All slopes are open in Deštné and in Říčky in Orlické hory. In Dolní Moravá below Králický Sněžnik, more than ten kilometers of downhill tracks are available. “It's supposed to get colder at the weekend, but we probably won't get any more snow. There are up to 80 centimeters of snow on the slopes,” Jitka Kadlčíková from the Dolní Morava Mountain Resort told ČTK.
On average, around 3,000 people a day come to the Jizera Mountains resorts in Bedřichov, Severák and Tanvaldské Špičák, which are operated by the company SKI Bižu. “We are looking forward to Saturday that something will fall, it won't be a miracle, but it will only help if it freezes. And we are ready to take advantage of the expected frosts and make artificial snow,” Pavel Bažant, director of SKI Bižu, told ČTK today. On Ještěd in Liberec, evening skiing has been canceled since Tuesday, it will start again on Friday. The frost stopped skiing there, mainly on slopes with natural snow.
Warming has not yet affected the Šumava campuses. “The slopes are in full operation and perfectly groomed with a layer of snow 95 centimeters high,” Olga Kneiflová said on behalf of the Lipno ski area. “The conditions for skiing are excellent and the weekend's snowfall will make them even better. We still have the entire ski resort in operation with all the lifts and 20 kilometers of slopes,” said Gerald Paschinger, manager of the Hochficht resort, which is on the Czech-Austrian border of the Šumava Mountains. The centers in Zadov and Kvilda also remain in operation. In Železná Ruda, lifts operate on Špičák, in the Nad Nádražím – Belveder area, on Samotá and on Alpalouca, and the cable car to Pancíř is in operation, the Železná Ruda info center reported. However, the slopes of Weissova louka and Goldhof are closed.
In the Ore Mountains, some winter areas have suspended the operation of the cable cars due to the high day and night temperatures. In Telnica, the lifts ran for the last time on Wednesday. “The snow is very soft, we can't go in with a snowmobile, that would be nothing. That's why we'd rather close it. It's supposed to cool down and start snowing on Saturday, we want to start operations again from Sunday,” said ČTK on behalf of operator Jindřich Holinger. From today, the cable car, ski lift and ski school are also not working in Klíny na Mostek. But you can also ski in Klínovec, Plešivec or Bublava.
The areas in Jeseníky have mostly withstood the warming in recent days, they have enough snow on the slopes and most are still in full operation. Skiing is available at Ovčárná, and Ski Aréna Karlov, located below, is also in full operation. The situation is worse in the resorts in the lower areas of the Olomouc region, the lifts have stopped, for example, in Kladky in Prostějovsk.
In the Beskydy, approximately half of the snow on the slopes has decreased. Usually only areas that have a sufficient supply of technical snow remain in operation. “Skiing is still available in several places. But the weather conditions are adequate. For example, the slopes in Mosty u Jablunkov, Bílá and Malenovce are in operation. Skiing is also available in the SkiPark Gruň complex,” a dispatcher of the Beskydy Mountain Service told ČTK.
< p>In the Zlín region, the snow has partially melted, for example, in the Troják area near Rajnochovice in the Kroměříž region, but it wants to remain in operation until March 19. The Kohútka resort near Nové Hrozenkov in the Vsetín region is also struggling with the loss of snow. “On some slopes, we have about 60 centimeters of snow, these are the ones that have to last us until the end of the season,” said Miroslav Maczko for the resort.
The snow in the Central Bohemian winter resorts has also decreased in recent days, but they still offer good conditions, according to the lift operators. They have about 70 centimeters of snow, for example, on Šibeniční vrch near Prague or in Monínec near Sedlce-Prčice in the Příbram region. Five ski slopes are open in Vysočina, three fewer than a week ago due to snow. Around half a meter of technical snow lies on the slopes of Blanensko in South Moravia. However, the lift stopped today in Filipov údolí in Hodonínsk.
Enough snow for cross-country skiers remains on the ridges. In the Krkonoše they have a cover of 80 to 120 centimeters, in Orlické hory around 30 centimeters. The cross-country trails in Jeseníky on Červenohorské sedlo and on Praděd have been modified. They maintain tens of kilometers of trails in Pustevny and the surrounding Beskydy Mountains. “We adjusted the tracks for today, the conditions are not ideal, somewhere the snow has completely disappeared, so skiers have to carry their skis,” said Martin Kunc, director of the Jizerská o.p.s., which is in charge of the Jizerská magistrála. There are a number of cross-country trails in the Šumava that are difficult to navigate, with places without snow and with puddles, and those interested in hiking won't even set off in the Ore Mountains.
