Pilsko ski area in Korbielów

Korbielów is a village in the Żywiec Beskids right by the Slovak border, at the foot of Pilsko (1,557 m) – the second-highest summit of these mountains after Babia Góra. The local Pilsko ski area reaches high into the mountains: its lifts climb from the Korbielów valley via the Hala Szczawiny and Hala Miziowa glades to just below the summit. It is run by CTE, the company that owns the Pilsko-Jontek complex at the bottom station. According to the operator, the runs total about 10 km.

Runs and lifts

The area lists eight runs:

• No. 1 Buczynka – Kamienna: 2,500 m, 384 m vertical, with snowmaking;
• No. 1a Solisko – Kamienna: 730 m, 160 m vertical, snowmaking and floodlights;
• No. 2 and 2' Solisko – Kamienna – Baba: 710 m, 143 m vertical, snowmaking and floodlights;
• No. 3 – the Solisko – Kamienna sport slope: 730 m, 160 m vertical;
• No. 4 Buczynka – Hala Szczawiny: 1,800 m, almost flat (31 m vertical);
• No. 5 Pilsko – Hala Szczawiny: 3,364 m, 700 m vertical – the longest descent;
• No. 5a Pilsko – Hala Miziowa: 800 m, 200 m vertical;
• No. 6 Kopiec – Hala Miziowa – Buczynka: 2,100 m, 304 m vertical.

Lifts: the 4-seat chairlifts Jontek – Buczynka (about 1,500 m, 298 m vertical) and Kamienna – Solisko (700 m, 160 m), the 2-seat chairlift Polana Strugi – Hala Szczawiny (1,564 m, 267 m), a double parallel T-bar Hala Szczawiny – Hala Miziowa (913 m, 234 m), the Hala Miziowa – Pilsko T-bar (670 m, 198 m), the Hala Miziowa – Kopiec platter (430 m) and the Płaj training platters (80 and 180 m).

Season and ski passes

The area is already selling 2026/27 day passes online: an adult ticket for any one day of the season costs 190 PLN. It is valid on the Kamienna – Solisko and Jontek – Buczynka chairlifts and on T-bars V and VI (Hala Szczawiny – Hala Miziowa) and VII (Hala Miziowa – Pilsko) during their opening hours, which are published on the website. A card can be topped up online or a voucher exchanged at the ticket office (deposit 10 PLN); an unused pass can be returned until 15 April 2027. Ski clubs train slalom on the Kamienna – Solisko sport slope in the morning (8:00–10:30) and evening (16:30–19:00). Prices as of October 2026 – check the official website.

Who it suits

Korbielów is for those who love long descents and real mountains: run No. 5 from Pilsko has 700 m of vertical, and the upper slopes around Hala Miziowa are open, above the forest. Beginners will like the snow-making and floodlit runs by Kamienna and the Płaj training lift. The Pilsko Ski Academy ski school operates here; only its instructors or outside schools that have paid an administrative fee may teach on the slopes. Ski touring on the runs is forbidden during and after opening hours because snow groomers work on them.

Getting there from Ukraine

By car: through the Krakovets – Korczowa crossing along the A4 motorway to Kraków, then towards Bielsko-Biała (S52), on the S1 expressway to Żywiec and via Jeleśnia by regional road to Korbielów; the area is at the end of the village, close to the Slovak border. By public transport: train to Żywiec, then a local bus to Korbielów (check the timetable in advance).

Nearby: trails and peaks

From the village the Korbielów – Hala Miziowa – Witasówka trail climbs to the glade. Above the area rise the summit of Pilsko and the Hala Miziowa glade with its hut, and in the neighbouring valley you can see the Sopotnia Wielka Falls.

Official website: pilsko.org

Photos: Pudelek, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Pudelek, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; ukasiu.pl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.