Laskowa-Ski — ski resort in the Island Beskids

The Laskowa-Ski station, also known as Laskowa-Kamionna, operates in the Laskowa commune in Limanowa county, on the eastern slopes of Kamionna — the highest summit of its massif in the Island Beskids at 801 m. The slope works between roughly 460 and 760 m, with four runs totalling close to 4 km and four uphill lifts. The resort opened in 2003 and remains in local ownership.

Laskowa’s strongest card is the length of its main descent. The run from below the summit to the base station covers about 2 km with 300 m of vertical — more than most stations of this size, and enough that your legs start counting after a single lap. It is served by a four-seater Tatrapoma chairlift 1,550 m long, backed by a parallel platter lift of roughly 1,250 m. The lower section of the main run has a black variant, separated out in 2010; the remaining runs by the base station are short and gentle.

Location matters here too. Kraków is about 1.5 hours away and Nowy Sącz under an hour, so Laskowa works mainly as a day and after-work slope. Full floodlighting supports that, along with snowmaking and regular grooming. The base facilities are more modest than in the big Podhale resorts: rental, servicing, a ski school with a kindergarten programme, a few food outlets and a hotel at the foot of the slope.

• about 4 km of runs across four descents on the eastern face of Kamionna,
• a main run of roughly 2 km — one of the longer single descents outside the Tatras and the Sądecki Beskids,
• a vertical drop of about 300 m, between roughly 460 and 760 m altitude,
• a four-seater Tatrapoma chairlift 1,550 m long plus three platter lifts,
• a black variant on the lower section of the main run for stronger skiers,
• technical snowmaking and floodlighting — evening skiing is standard here, not an add-on,
• rental, servicing, a ski school and a ski kindergarten at the base station,
• a hotel, food outlets and a mountain rescue post directly below the slope.

Laskowa serves intermediates best — the main run was built for them: two kilometres of varying but never extreme gradient, long enough to genuinely work on technique in a single descent. Beginners get short, gentle runs by the base station served by platter lifts, plus a ski school and ski kindergarten on site; you move onto the chairlift once the first turns are under control. Advanced skiers get the black variant on the lower main run and a useful vertical for training, but with no off-piste terrain and no developed snowpark the resort will not fill a whole week. For families from Kraków and Nowy Sącz it is a convenient slope for a day or an evening.

The station address is Laskowa 697, 34-602 Laskowa — the base stands in the hamlet of Jelonkówka, a few kilometres from the village centre towards Kamionna. From Kraków it is about 65 km and roughly 1.5 hours: road 75 via Gdów towards Limanowa, then local roads through the Łososina valley. From Nowy Sącz it is about 40 km via Limanowa, from Limanowa about 15 km, and from Warsaw about 370 km, roughly 4.5 hours.

The final stretch climbs a narrow approach road that turns slippery during heavy snowfall — winter tyres are the minimum in the Island Beskids, and four-wheel drive helps when snow piles up. There is a car park at the base station. Public transport in this area is sparse, so in practice people drive; minibuses reach Laskowa village from Limanowa and Nowy Sącz, but several kilometres to the station remain.

Driving distances

• Warszawa — approx. 370 km, ok. 4,5 h
• Kraków — approx. 65 km, ok. 1,5 h
• Nowy Sącz — approx. 40 km, ok. 50 min
• Limanowa — approx. 15 km, ok. 20 min

www.laskowa-ski.pl

The season in Laskowa usually starts in late December and runs into the first half of March, with exact dates set by the weather — the base station sits low at around 460 m, so without snowmaking the slope would not open on time. The eastern aspect works in its favour: the slope catches the sun in the morning and stays in shade all afternoon, which slows melting on March days. Floodlighting covers the main run layout, so skiing after dark is a normal part of the day rather than a short extra. Weekends and school breaks are busiest — on weekday afternoons the slope can be close to empty.

Laskowa lies in the Łososina valley, surrounded by the isolated summits of the Island Beskids — on a clear day the Tatras are visible from the top station. Walking trails lead up Kamionna and on to Pasierbiecka Góra, with Mogielica, the range’s highest peak, a little further away. Within a short drive are Limanowa, the Cistercian abbey in Szczyrzyc, Lake Rożnów and Nowy Sącz with its open-air ethnographic museum. This is a quiet region with no spa infrastructure — after skiing you head home or back to your lodging.

Zone4 is a ski and snowboard school from Warsaw building ZoneCloud — a booking system for lessons with instructors. We do not own any slope: what we add is the thing slopes usually lack, namely a free slot with a named instructor, visible online and bookable on the spot. Today it runs at Górka Szczęśliwicka in Warsaw, at Rybno and at Szwajcaria Bałtowska.

The next step is a nationwide network — including Laskowa. We are building the instructor team here and will open lesson booking together with it. If you are looking for an instructor in Laskowa for the coming season, leave your details and we will let you know the moment bookings open. If you teach here yourself, read the section below.

We are looking for ski and snowboard instructors in Laskowa and the surrounding area (małopolskie Province). The arrangement is freelance and non-exclusive — you can teach with us alongside your own clients or a local ski school. You set your availability in the schedule; we bring the students and handle bookings and settlements.

ZoneCloud gives an instructor what working solo does not: a public profile with a description and photo, a calendar of free slots, online bookings and payments, and a lesson history in one place. Instead of fielding calls on a Saturday morning, you get a filled schedule.

Instructor qualifications (SITN-PZN or equivalent) are a strong plus but not an entry barrier — what counts is confident, technical riding and the ability to work with people, especially children. You attach scans and a CV in the online application.