ENDLESS TREE RUNS

First thing the next morning, we are greeted by Alice, an enthusiastic British snowboard guide from Propaganda Snow School. She has a big grin on her face and flashes of magenta in her hair. Alice has been living in Slovakia for two months and already knows Jasna inside out.

A season ski pass here is only €400 (compared to €900 in the French Alps). Alice’s boyfriend has bought one and hops on a plane every month for a weekend from London.

“Slovakia gets serious powder in the winter and pints are around €1.20”

“You ready to head up?” she says. We climb aboard the first chairlift and then a swanky new cable car before finding ourselves at the top of Chopok peak, 2024m above sea level.

The main town of Jasna sits on the north side of the Chopok mountain, alongside the more beginner friendly slopes that lead to the restaurants and bars, as well as some of the gnarliest, steepest terrain, ideal for powder hunters.

The south side has more mellow powder fields for those who are stepping into the backcountry for the first time.

“You’ve got to try a bombardino” says Alice leading us to a cafe at the bottom of the mountain. Bombardino is a popular drink in Jasna, consisting of egg nog topped up with extra rum. It’s served with a mountain of whipped cream on top and is sweet, custardy and deliciously warm.

As we sat chatting to our host Patrick the next evening, he was talking us through the local wildlife. “Last year, a bear wandered onto the slopes,” he says casually. “Onto the slopes?!” we said. “Yes,” he said. “It was in the newspaper.” If that’s not a reason to visit Slovakia, I don’t know what is.

SLOVAKS LOVE WELLNESS

There isn’t a huge après-ski scene on the slopes in Jasna, but one thing the Slovaks do love is wellness. Every hotel in the area was advertising their wellness facilities. One hotel we stayed in had four saunas, two steam rooms and two hot tubs.

After a long day on the hill, there’s nothing better than hanging up your sodden snowboarding clothes and sitting in a bubbling jacuzzi watching the snow fall around you and the dark trees swaying in the wind.

If you fancy getting out of town, head down to Tatralandia, an aquapark just a fifteen minute drive from Jasna in Liptovský Mikuláš.

It is every child’s (and, let’s be honest, adult’s) dream – with dozens of swimming pools and slides, including a steaming hot 40°C outdoor pool.

“There are few things better than hanging up your sodden snowboarding clothes and sitting in a bubbling jacuzzi in the snow”

It is an unnerving green colour as a result of the natural thermal springs that bubble up in the Liptov area. These waters are said to have the power to dispel stress and tension from the body.

As we soaked our muscles, we watched the Slovaks drifting around the poolside wearing Crocs and t-shirts with phrases like ‘Good People Do Good Things Sometimes’ written in diamantes.

Slovaks also have a very laissez-faire attitude to nudity we discovered as we wandered into yet another giant wellness area – called Celtic Sauna World – with no less than 21 saunas and steam rooms, including a rooftop hot tub overlooking the snowy surrounds. I told you they like wellness…

MEAT, POTATOES AND MORE MEAT

Food is kind of a big deal in Slovakia, but if you asked your average European what Slovak cuisine consists of, they would probably look at you like you’d just asked them to sing the Czech national anthem.

It’s mainly made up of meat, potatoes and cheese – but cooked in various, surprisingly delicious ways, all with faintly Yiddish sounding names that my Jewish grandma would use.

We tucked into a meal of bryndzové halušk, potato dumplings with bacon, vegetables and sheep’s cheese, alongside a huge platter of smoked cheese, pickled vegetables and trout, washed down with local beer.

“Endless powder lines, no lift queues, cheap beer and more saunas than anyone could possibly need, Slovakia needs to be on every powder hunter’s radar”

While lunch in a French or Swiss ski resort would cost you well over €20 for a soggy sandwich and a plate of chips, Slovakian mountain meals are incredibly cheap. We paid for soup, chips, spaghetti bolognase plus two large beers and it cost a mere 10 euros.

Slovaks, Poles and Czechs have been skiing in Jasna for nearly 100 years – and yet we barely heard a single British voice around us all week.

As we reluctantly drove away from Jasna, we watched the mountains disappear through dark winding forest roads and couldn’t help but think, why has no one discovered this place yet?

With endless powder lines, no lift queues, cheap beer, delicious food and more saunas than anyone could possibly need, it definitely needs to be on every European powder hunter’s radar.

When so many Alpine ski resorts are becoming prohibitively expensive, Jasna is a great place to visit year after year – without feeling like you need to remortgage your house to afford a week-long break. Trust us, it’s a hidden, cheap, powder gem waiting to be discovered.

Wizz Air offers 4 flights a week from London Luton to Poprad, with fares starting at £50 (one way, including all taxes, non-optional charges and one small cabin bag). 

For more information about Wizz Air’s routes or to book, visit wizzair.com or call 0907 292 0102.

To book accommodation in Jasna, please visit tmrhotels.com/en/, and for more information on the resort, please visit jasna.sk/en/ and visitliptov.sk/en/

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