ON TOP OF THE WORLD - POLISH TATRA STYLE (Kasprowy Wierch (Poland))

Member Name: Richada

Product:	Kasprowy Wierch (Poland)
Date:	13/05/09 (106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The Experience. Views. Accessibility. Facilities.

Disadvantages: Crowded. Queues. Commercial. Environmentally Dubious.

KASPROWY WIERCH - WHERE ON EARTH ARE WE?

Unless you happen to be Polish, from the Tatra region of Slovakia, or have holidayed in the mountain resort of Zakopane, there is no earthly reason why you would be expected to have heard of this particular location.

Yes, in case you are still guessing, I am reviewing a mountain here, Poland's most popular ski mountain at that!

In order get your bearings, let me explain that Mount Kasprowy Wierch is located immediately to the south of Zakopane, the most popular winter resort in Poland. Its' summit actually forms part of the Polish / Slovakian border along the High Tatras in the south east of Poland.

In turn, Zakopane is located about two hours south of Krakow by road or rail, which in all likelihood, if visiting the area, is where you will have landed, having flown there.

This particular area of the Tatra Mountains is the most accessible, both for Polish tourists and others visiting the region. Consequently, summer or winter, this is not an area in which to escape from the maddening crowds. If that is your intention and the Tatras' are your desire, then I would recommend trying the Slovakian side of the border, it is quieter there, although the slopes, being south facing, are covered in snow for less of the year. That hardly represents the spirit of this review though!


PONY & TRAP or SHANK'S PONY?

OK, so you find yourself in Zakopane and want to see the sites. Kasprowy Wierch will appear in all the tourist guides, assuming that, having read them and indeed this review, you wish to visit, then how do you find it?

Zakopane is not a big town; it is quite possible to see everything you need to there on foot. Sign posting is very good and you will also find the locals helpful, most speak surprisingly good English too - they have after all made a living out of tourism since Victorian times. During the summer you will hear as much (American) English spoken on the streets there as Polish. Therefore asking someone how to get to Kasprowy Wierch need not be feared.

Cheap and good maps are also available from vendors in the town centre.

You have a choice of three ways of doing this, in ascending order of cost: on foot, by taxi or mini-bus or by horse and cart. Whichever you choose you will, unless going VERY early in the morning (before 7.30am), end up at the back of a long queue upon reaching the cable car station.

Visiting Zakopane in 2007 and 2008, we actually left our car in the hotel car park and, with map in hand, merely followed the tide of hikers straight up the hill from Krupowki, Zakopane's famous main street, in the centre of town.

Be warned though, especially if you are not physically fit, this is a long - 2.5 kilometre - and increasingly strenuous - up-hill walk to the cable car station at the foot of the mountain.

Kuznice (the name of the road) leading up to the cable car station, is only open for licensed traffic, there is a large, guarded, on street car park at the bottom, from where the taxi's charge 10PLN (about £2) each to take you the 2.5km to the cable car station. In 2008 we did just that, walked to the car park and hopped aboard a mini-bus which sped us to the end of the road.


THREE CHOICES REDUCE TO TWO

Arriving at the end of the road by foot, taxi or carriage, you are now at the foot of the mountain and can either, if suitably equipped and shod, carry on climbing, or join the queue for the cable car.

In 2007 we arrived here over-heated and tired from the climb, only to join the back of a very long queue, we did not stay long however! Those coming out of the cable car were advising that it was a complete waste of time and money - the whole mountain was buried in cloud, there was no view from the top! We decided to leave it for another day.

That day arrived in spring last year (28.04.08), a late spring at that in the Tatras, from our hotel in Zab, overlooking the impressive range behind Zakopane we could see that the north facing slopes were still covered in snow. We finished breakfast as early as we could and, to save time, jumping the queue on the walkers, took a mini-bus to the cable car station. Even soon after 8.30am there was a very long queue, we waited around an hour to board the cable car. An hour should be regarded as a very short wait, most here queue literally for hours on end.


RICHADA'S NEW EXPERIENCE OF THE DAY

I did not say too much beforehand to my (Polish) wife about the cable car, however she was aware that this was going to be my first such experience at the age of 45. As a child my parents regularly took me on holiday to Austria, Italy and even Switzerland, however my father, being terrified of heights, always made sure that we never got anywhere near a cable car!

Heights affect me in different ways on different days, whilst not knowing just what I would make of the cable car I was strangely relaxed about the whole experience, even having shuffled along in that queue for an hour.

Whilst my wife actually carried out the ticket purchasing in Polish - it is usually quicker that way, English interpretations are posted at the kiosk window. The cashiers also speak some English.

Having paid, that is not the end of your queuing; now it's a further twenty minute slow shuffle up the many steps and around the corner onto the cable car "platform". For those of you who have never boarded a cable car, this is like a railway station in miniature, the suspended car pulls up at a platform level with the floor of the car, you enter through a sliding door.

In summer 2006, our first visit to Zakopane, the cable car service was not running, the reason being that the whole apparatus, including the cars themselves, were being replaced. Personally, especially in view of the ramshackle appearance of the old cars, I was very glad of this, and had no fears on safety grounds at all.


UP, UP AND AWAY

You may not give it a second thought as you swiftly and silently glide away from the platform, marvelling both at the scenery and at the modern car in which you are travelling, but, when started in August 1935, this was a major feat of engineering.

Nearly all the construction work had to be carried out manually, 600 men were employed in the building of the line. Due to the topography, everything had to be carried from a point half way to the top, the men worked between 14 and 16 hours day, much of it in the dark through the winter, very dangerous and uncomfortable construction work. Incredibly by March 1936 it was open to the first fare paying passengers. One of the first passengers was Ignacy Mościcki, the then President of Poland.

The journey to the top of Mount Kasprowy takes approximately 12 minutes and is in two stages, which, when getting on the car, we were not aware of. At 1325metres (4347ft) above sea level, there is a change station at Myslenickie Turnie. This works like clockwork, as your car reaches this point, the descending one is just pulling into the station. You merely step out of one, walk around the corner and onto the "up" platform and step into the other, identical, cable car.

The cars themselves are still very new and smart. Strictly standing room only, there are straps to hang onto if you wish; this is an extraordinarily comfortable ride. You admire increasingly breathtaking views through huge windows and there is a roof-light too, presumably doubling as an emergency escape hatch.

The two cars are manned, although it occurred to me that the staff have a rather long and boring day, operating the car involves no more than pressing a lift type button. As is usual in Poland you will find that the radio (RMF, the Krakow based commercial station) is playing constantly, although it is not loud enough to drown out the increasingly excited hubbub of your fellow 59 passengers - yes these cars carry 60 passengers at a time!

We were lucky in that at the end of April last year there was still a lot of snow on the Tatra Mountains, approximately half way between the transfer station and the summit we reached the snow line, changing the scenery altogether. This made sun glasses a necessity, especially under the stunning bright blue sky with which we were blessed on the day.

For those interested in a few more technical details:

Length of line: 4291.59 metres

"Base" station at Kuznice: 1027 metres above sea level

Summit station at Kasprowy Wierch: 1959m.a.s.l.

Maximum rate of climb: 22%

Summit of the mountain: 1987m.a.s.l. (6519ft)


WAS ALL THAT QUEUING WORTH IT?......

......Yes, undoubtedly it was, the view, and indeed the whole experience, at least on the day that we did it, was breathtaking. Whilst recognising that this review will be a lot less graphic in black and white, I will attempt to describe here in words what this trip was all about for us, as non-skiers.

I also have to say there was an element of 'no it wasn't', but that is really due to the crowds, I always envisage mountain summits at remote, lonely, even spiritual places - none of that applies here, thanks to the commercialism of the place and facilities that you would simply not expect to find at the peak of a mountain in the Tatras.

We came here primarily for the views and NOTHING could detract from the fact that they were stunning. The resulting photographs, the best mountain ones that I and Mrs R have ever taken, speak for themselves. At just over 6500ft Kasprowy Wierch cannot exactly be counted as a high mountain, however, what it lacks in height, it more than makes up for in terms of beauty and position. It is very much centred in the Tatra Mountains, offering views to the east and west, a panorama of the Slovakian Tatras to the south, as well as to the north over the huge Polish Podhale Plain below.

For views alone, nothing that we saw from the top of much higher Swiss Alps could compare in beauty to this.

A far as I personally was concerned however, physically at the top of Kasprowy Wierch I was feeling most unwell. A combination of factors, the incredibly blue sky, the burning hot sun and deep frozen snow under my booted feet made me feel quite sick. Without decent boots you are unable to walk at all up there as the snow is constantly packed to ice by the throngs of visitors. Since breaking my leg and ankle on just such a surface in Poland three years ago I am also unduly wary of my safety in such conditions.

Mrs R left me sitting on my waterproof in order to climb right to the very summit and take the photographs, I was simply feeling too sick and scared to attempt climbing any higher than we already had. Sitting here for maybe half an hour I was able to observe the thousands of people around me. Nearly all appeared to be Polish, a small minority had brought skis and were skiing down the mountain and returning on one of the two chair lifts, but extraordinarily the majority appeared to have come up here to strip off and get a quick sun tan! Surely a sun bed in Zakopane would be a less expensive way of doing that!

Photographs taken, view admired and re-united with my wife, we still had approximately forty minutes to kill before making the cable car descent. Incidentally, if you are more adventurous than we, you can walk down the mountain; it will take approximately two and a half hours.


MOUNTAIN TOP FACILITIES

There are two substantial stone buildings here. The higher of the two is the weather station, Poland's highest altitude building - it is not open to the public. Below it is the cable car station, which has been extended into a large building containing a two storey pizza restaurant, shop, comprehensive toilet and shower facilities and, reportedly, some guest rooms, which I have to say that I have never seen advertised.

On a day such as the one we had, it seemed a shame not to have a bite to eat in the restaurant, where we consumed very good pizza, albeit at an (understandably) inflated cost. Strangely it did settle my stomach somewhat and being indoors admiring the view out of the burning sun was a relief.

The toilets were good, immaculately clean, but again, understandably in this instance, charged for. Everything that comes here to be sold eaten, or indeed removed, has to be done by the cable car itself, the logistics of running such facilities are expensive - and fascinating at the same time!

The shop was less than impressive, the same touristy items as on sale in dozens of shops in Zakopane and for less money at that.


BACK DOWN TO EARTH, WITHOUT THE BUMP

At the appointed time your ticket is passed through the machine and you step onto the platform for the descent.

The return journey on the cable car is somehow more sombre, that sense of anticipation has gone. Whilst still taking photographs one is aware of the radio playing now in the back ground. The view now facing you is of the vast plain to the north of Zakopane. Twelve minutes after leaving you are back to the Kuźnice base station.


ROUNDING OFF A VERY INTERESTING EXPERIENCE

Rather than merely walking, or boarding a taxi, for our return trip. into Zakopane, we had a stroll down through the beautiful woods adjacent to the road. In a sense I actually enjoyed this more than being on top of the mountain. We were at last alone with nature, a bubbling mountain stream, little ponds and bird song surrounding us.

It took us just over an hour to get back into town, in all a morning well spent, with the exception of the queues, which as we left the cable car were very long indeed!


JUST A PASSING THOUGHT.......

A while ago I reviewed a neighbouring "attraction" - Morskie Oko, which, in terms of sheer tourist numbers, is probably the only similarly popular (read crowded) attraction in the area.

Poland, although far from short of beautiful scenery, is not well served for tourist attractions in the sense that we know them in the UK, consequently there is almost unbearable pressure on the ones that do exist. As at Morskie Oko, so too here at Mount Kasprowy Wierch, to my eyes at least, the pressure of visitor numbers is so great that it is severely impacting the very environment that those visitors have come to admire.


SEASONS & PRICES (CABLE CAR):

As prices are constantly changing I would suggest checking the following link, apologies for the Polish language, but the only up to date prices appear to be on this site:

www.kasprowy-wierch.pl/index.php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=90&Itemid=48

I will however interpret it for you for future reference!

Sezon = season / Poza sezonem = out of season

The current "in" season runs until 30.09.09, the out of season from 1.10.09 to 19.12.09

(zl = PLN = Polish zloty. Today, 18.04.09, £1.00 = 4.88 zl)

normalny (gora) = normal ticket (going up) - 30zl / 24zl

ulgowy (gora) = concessionary ticket (going up) - 25zl / 19zl

normalny w dół = normal ticket (down only) - 19zl / 15zl

normalny (gora-dol) = normal return - 40zl / 34zl.

Return tickets are strictly "timed", once at the summit you have an hour and forty minutes before joining the cable car for the descent.

(Prices correct as at 18.04.09)

The ticket structure is complex and there are various concessionary fares for guides and skiing instructors. The information that I have given you here should allow you to at least to make sense of the fares.


Richada / Dooyoo © May 2009

Summary: If you are looking for peace and tranquility do not expect to find it here!