Nosal in Zakopane — ski slope

Nosal sits on the eastern edge of Zakopane, on the road towards Kuźnice, at the foot of the rocky peak of the same name (1,206 m). What operates there today is the Nosal Ski Training Centre — five Tatrapoma platter lifts and a magic carpet serving short, wide runs on the lower part of the hillside. The address is ul. Oswalda Balzera 30, about 3 km from Krupówki.

The name Nosal is far older in Polish skiing than the station in its current form. From the summit drops the “K” run, regarded as the hardest race course in the country — it hosted a World Cup slalom in 1974. It was served by a single-seat chairlift from the 1960s, roughly 600 m long with about 230 m of vertical. That lift has stood idle for well over a decade, and the “K” run is not open to skiers.

In practice, then, Nosal is a town slope and a teaching hill. The runs measure from a few dozen metres up to about 240 m, they are snowed, groomed daily and floodlit, and the base area has a ski school, rental, servicing and an inn. It is a sound choice for learning and for a short session without leaving Zakopane — but not for a full day out if you already ski confidently.

• five Tatrapoma platter lifts plus a magic carpet for the youngest skiers,
• short runs: from about 33 m at the carpet to about 240 m, all graded easy,
• technical snowmaking, daily grooming and floodlighting — skiing after dark included,
• base station at about 919 m, directly beneath the wall of Nosal (1,206 m),
• ski and snowboard school, equipment and clothing rental and servicing on site,
• a fenced play park for children and an inn beside the base station,
• the historic “K” run from the summit and the single-seat chairlift both remain out of service,
• about 3 km from central Zakopane, on the road to Kuźnice and the Kasprowy Wierch cable car.

Nosal is first and foremost a learning slope. The runs served by the platter lifts are wide, gentle and short, and the carpet at the base lets a child start skiing without wrestling with a drag lift. Intermediates will use Nosal for polishing turns in short repetitions rather than for long descents — the longest run is about 240 m, so a lap lasts under a minute. Advanced skiers will find nothing here today: the only demanding descent, the “K” run from the summit, is closed along with the chairlift. For families staying in Zakopane, however, it is the most convenient first-contact slope in town.

The address is ul. Oswalda Balzera 30, 34-500 Zakopane, on the road from the town centre towards Kuźnice, about 3 km from Krupówki. From Warsaw it is roughly 415 km, about 5 hours — the S7 via Kraków, then the Zakopianka (S7/DK47) through Nowy Targ and Poronin. From Kraków allow about 2 hours, from Katowice about 2.5 hours.

There is a car park at the base station, but it fills quickly during school breaks and weekends, and ul. Balzera often clogs with traffic heading for Kuźnice. Local buses and minibuses from the Zakopane bus station stop right by the slope, so Nosal is easy to reach without a car. The final stretch of the Zakopianka queues badly on Friday afternoons and on Sunday returns.

Driving distances

• Warszawa — approx. 415 km, ok. 5 h
• Kraków — approx. 105 km, ok. 2 h
• Katowice — approx. 180 km, ok. 2,5 h
• Nowy Targ — approx. 22 km, ok. 30 min

nosal.pl

The season at Nosal usually runs from early December to the first half of March — in 2025/2026 the last skiing day was 8 March. The station operates normally, but only in its present form, on the platter lifts in the lower part of the hill. The long-announced upgrade with a new chairlift and runs from the summit, with Tatra National Park as investor, is stuck at the environmental permit stage: in June 2025 the Supreme Administrative Court challenged the way that decision had been issued and the case went back for reconsideration, so there is no construction date. Snowmaking and floodlights allow evening skiing, and the busiest times are school holidays and weekend afternoons.

Nosal stands practically on the threshold of Tatra National Park: a few hundred metres away the Bystra Valley and the road to Kuźnice begin, and from Kuźnice the cable car climbs to Kasprowy Wierch. In summer the short but steep walk up Nosal itself, with its view of Giewont, is popular. Zakopane offers Krupówki, the Aqua Park and the Wielka Krokiew ski jump, and within a dozen kilometres you will find further stations — Harenda, Polana Szymoszkowa and Suche.

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 Nosal. We are building the instructor team here and will open lesson booking together with it. If you are looking for an instructor in Nosal 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 Zakopane 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.