So, you live in Bratislava and you want to go skiing or snowboarding. What are the options? Stay in Slovakia, or head elsewhere?

First of all you need to decide what you're really looking for - an easy day out for a beginner or some serious off-piste shenanigans? Most things are on offer, you just have to know where to look. If you want a large, wonderfully well-run resort with great services, then I'd suggest you get on a plane and land a bit further away...

However, that's never been my choice as it eliminates day trips and really starts to pile on the cost and when there's something on your doorstep for every level, why bother?

For beginners there are a couple of places within very easy reach, where you can get a good standard of lessons, and slopes which are big enough to satisfy your needs. Pezinská Baba is an easy yet frustratingly slow bus journey away - 07:25 from Mlynské Nivy bus station, arriving at 08:30. The bus back to Blava leaves at 16:25. Although Baba doesn't offer much for intermediate boarders and skiers, there's plenty to push someone trying to make that next step to snow independence.

Alternatively, you could jump on a train to Pieštany at 08:10 and then get the bus to Bezovec (Nova Lehota) at 09:15. There you'll find three or four pistes for beginners to learn or see what they're made of. As with Pezinská Baba, don't expect many facilities and be sure to check the snow conditions before you go, as these are both low altitude centres which rely heavily on a cold winter and a small army of snow-machines. Having said that, the Koliba at Bezovec provides very well priced food and, having tested many samples, I can give the beer my stamp of approval!

Next in line for the improved snowboarder would be places like Donovaly and Skipark Ružomberok (pictured). These offer very different things but are very much aimed at intermediates. Whilst Donovaly sees the town sitting in the middle of the slopes and can therefore provide a group with a very relaxing couple of days on piste followed by nights of apres, Ružomberok probably offers something a little more technical, with more red and even a couple of (barely) black runs. Both resorts are quite well organised and certainly very accessible to those without their own transport.

For those more discerning boarders looking for an extra bang for their buck, I'd recommend one of two resorts depending on whether you're a speed-demon or an off-piste junkie. Speedies head East to Stuhleck, freeriders go West to Jasná.  

Stuhleck in Austria provides some great quality pistes for those that want to get their thrills from bombing down the mountain. It’s a compact resort with 24km of well graded slopes connected with high quality, fast chairlifts and a few button-lifts for the beginners. The quality of service is as you would expect in Austria, with very well organised systems, good facilities, high quality rental gear and staff that are pleasant and very effective at their jobs.

To me, perhaps the thing that sets Austrian resorts above their Slovak counterparts is the filling of chairlifts. Why oh why would people want to queue for 15 minutes and then wait even longer to sit with their friends (who they hardly ever talk to)? The Austrian lift staff encourage people to fill every available seat, thereby reducing queue times considerably. Single spurs are also offered to enable individuals to bypass a significant portion of the line and fill any seats that may be vacant.

But back to the 'boarding. Stuhleck's slopes are pisted very well and cope magnificently with adverse conditions on all but the busiest of days - on which note, I'd recommend Sunday over Saturday. If it’s off piste that you're after, there are still some areas to be found where you can attempt to wrap yourself round a tree or land on your head attempting the next big jump.

Ski-trains leave Petrzalka station at 6:53 at the weekend, with a combined rail and snow ticket costing €36. The journey takes around 3 hours and minibuses are provided for transfer from Spital station to the slopes. With lifts closing at 16:00, there is also plenty of time to get your free lift back to the station for the 16:55 train back to Petržalka.

Which leads us finally to Slovakia's biggest and best - Jasná. Sitting just up the valley from Liptovský Mikuláš, Jasná provides more piste, off-piste, facilities and fun than anywhere else in the country. With over 34km of runs and 5 designated freeride zones, there really is something for everyone (as cliched as that sounds). The mixture of lifts is good, with 4 main chairlifts on the north, linking together other draglifts and a two-seater chair which takes you almost to the top of the mountain, a short walk from exploring the south side.

The biggest problems with Jasná are the queues and getting from Liptovský Mikuláš to the slopes. The queues can often be beaten by choosing the right area of the mountain to board, whereas the transport situation is a total lottery. Jasná advertises that it provides a free skibus from the main carpark at the bottom of the valley to the bottom of the slopes. However, please take a healthy amount of emergency money with you or it might be a very long, cold night. On my last two visits, those who knew best had decided that the skibuses weren't required, leaving myself and at least a hundred people stranded, trying to fight their way onto overcrowded service buses or cramming into the few taxis which were available. Be warned!

Regarding the snow itself, the Low Tatras seem to be a great provider of fresh powder and the shape of the mountain means that at least one section of the mountain always seems perfect. For those hunting a bit more adventure, there are some wonderful powder runs to be found beneath lifts and through forests and the Spravodlivá Moguls can take people that next step into freeriding. But don't think that's the end of the action, as there are some play areas for the insane. By hiking up to the top of the ridge, adrenaline-junkies can satisfy their hunger by throwing themselves down any number of gullies, cliffs or snowy graveyards. This 'boarder can't wait for the mid to late season to have another go at a cliff he fell down last year. Please be a little more careful and go with a knowledgeable guide.

With combined ski/train tickets available, day trips are more than manageable as lots of trains go daily between Bratislava and Mikuláš. So there's no excuse not to throw yourself down a mountain this winter.

http://www.lkbaba.sk
http://www.bezovec.sk
http://www.skipark.sk
http://www.parksnow.sk/donovaly/
http://www.jasna.sk
http://www.stuhleck.at

Everything mentioned is aimed at skiers as well as 'boarders. As this article was mainly aimed at snowboarders/skiers without their own transport, it may be worth car-owners checking out Hochkar in Austria as well as Veľká Rača and Vrátna in Northwest Slovakia.

http://www.hochkar.at
http://www.velkaraca.sk
http://www.vratna.sk