You strap on your skis, take a deep breath, and while soaking up the beauty of the mountains, you set off ahead. Skit skiing is a passion of many active people, but also a chance to develop local tourism.

The work of the Speaker of the Sejm often begins at 6 am. While the corridors of the Sejm are still asleep, in the office of the second person in the state the first consultations and arrangements are already being made. Planning the next meetings, discussing the schedule of the session, collecting the necessary information about events in the country and abroad. Then time speeds up. There are days when, at three in the morning, the parliamentary gears are still turning behind the closed doors of the office.

There are also rare days like this when you can stand, listen to the wind and the relaxing creak of the snow. Check your skis, grab your poles, and head uphill. You cover the kilometers to the rhythm of your quickening breath, soaking up the scenery. Keep going up, go out over the forest line, look at the snow-covered Christmas trees behind you and shift your gaze to the white panorama of the peaks and slopes. To stop, enjoying the reward received for the effort. Turn around, fasten your boots, lock the bindings of your skis and move down, painting even footprints in the soft snow. - I am most impressed aesthetically by the landscapes, that majesty of the mountains in white. And the fact that one comes face to face with this beautiful and untamed nature. There is no comparison with riding on groomed trails near ski lifts. And the effort... I know what has attracted people to the mountains for hundreds of years', says Marek Kuchciński.

Relaxation on skis

It sounds like a fairy tale, but that's exactly what skit skiing is (also known as ski touring, ski mountaineering, or simply "seals"). Ski touring is a return to the roots of skiing, to the times when ski touring in the winter was done on seals, and in order to descend you had to first climb a mountain. Of course, like everything else around us, these journeys on snow trails have evolved. Today's skis are modern equipment. Skis are definitely lighter than downhill skis, but stronger than classic cross-country skis. They are fitted with special bindings which have two functions: uphill (in which case the skis are fitted with "seals", i.e. materials which protect the skis against sliding down steep slopes) and downhill.

Skydiving for everyone

Is this an adventure for everyone? Of course yes. Skiting can be treated as a recreational activity. It depends only on the ability of the person who puts on skis what goal he/she wants to reach. Of course there is also the other side of the coin. And not only, because Poles are very successful in ski mountaineering. We can for example admire Andrzej Bargiel, who wins not only international competitions, but also conquers the highest peaks at an impressive pace. He holds the world record in the Elbrus run and is the first Pole to conquer the Shishapangma eight-thousander on skis and to descend from its summit (in 2013). Anna Figura, in turn, is a world and European champion, a participant of the prestigious Pierra Menta competition in France.

Avalanches under Morskie Oko

Marshal Marek Kuchciński also cheers the competitors. In 2016, he took patronage of the Polish National Mountain Rescue Skit Competition. In his free time, he himself ventures into the mountains. Secretary of State at the Ministry of Development Jerzy Kwieciński also took part in his April expedition to the Mnich. It was dangerous at times, because there were avalanches in the area. This is where the Marshal's knowledge of mountains came in handy, as he is known for his passion for long hikes on the trails and off-roads of Podkarpacie. - Marek Kuchciński is an ideal partner for mountain trips and expeditions', says Piotr Bak, the starost of Tatra mountains. - He is a good conversationalist but economical and balanced in words. During mountain expeditions, which are often difficult and risky, such a partner is a perfect companion. He is always well-prepared in terms of equipment and gear - he adds.

Regional development

It is also worth mentioning that skydiving is a passion for some and a means of economic development for others. Winter tourism can be an important source of income for local communities. It is a chance to develop hotel base, but also agritourism.

People from all over Poland are attracted not only by the opportunity to relax but also to participate in sports competition. A good example is the growing popularity of mountain running, which already attracts thousands of participants and their families to the starting line (The Marshall is the patron of the Visegrad Ultramarathon TWIERDZ PRZEMYSL https://marekkuchcinski.pl/podkarpacie/ultramaraton-wyszehradzki-24-czerwca-przemyslu/).

A similar effect can also arouse skituring, which, by definition, does not require large amounts of money for sports infrastructure, no special cross-country trails, ski lifts are needed. It is enough to have beautiful mountains (there are plenty of those in Poland), knowledge of safety rules (learn more from GOPR http://www.gopr.pl/poradnik/) accommodation base and good intentions.

Skydiving itself is not expensive. The biggest expense is the skis and boots (there are also more and more rental shops with this equipment). Then we just have to make a sandwich, take a thermos of hot tea and go. There are no costs of ski lifts, standing in queues to the ski lift, there is pure relaxation and contact with extraordinary nature.

We invite you to the Tatra Mountains and to the Subcarpathian Mountains 🙂 .

text: M. Olejnik

photo: J. Kwieciński (second from left), P. Bak (fourth from left)

Tour leader Maciej Krokowski (first from left), tour guide Zosia Bachleda (first from right), Polish Skialpinism Champion