Skiers recently converged on Strbské Pleso to kick off the ski season. (source: SITA)
AT EXACTLY 8:30 on the morning of November 22, skiers took to the Interski slope in Štrbské Pleso in the High Tatras to mark the opening of the ski season in Slovakia. Hundreds were in attendance, including skiers from Poland and the Czech Republic, the SITA newswire wrote.
Several skiers have made the first day of skiing in Štrbské Pleso a tradition. Vladimír Krajňák, 81, the former top Czechoslovak downhill skier, also came to see the first snow.
For the past several years, Štrbské Pleso has started the ski season in Slovakia. According to Ján Gavalier, the technical manager of 1. Tatranská, the firm running the ski lifts and other facilities in this ski resort, this is due not only to snow machines but also to favourable climatic conditions at Štrbské Pleso and the altitude of 1,400 to 1,850 metres above sea level.
The manufacture of artificial snow began at Štrbské Pleso on November 17, when the temperatures sank below zero for the first time. On Saturday, November 22, the Interski slope was ready for skiers; the Esíčko slope should be ready by next weekend. Before Christmas, all ski slopes at Štrbské Pleso should be snowy. On November 22, there were up to 50 centimetres of snow at the Interski slope. In the High Tatras, the ski season will probably last until the beginning of May.
