No business like snow business

The late Bing Crosby isn't the only one who had dreams of a white Christmas.

In Poland's ski resorts, everyone is dreaming that a bumper dump of the white stuff is heading their way - soon.

After last year's disastrous ski season - with some of the lowest snowfalls on record - teamed with this year's slowing economy, a good snow season is just the medicine this temperamental industry needs.

So far, since the opening of this year's ski season in November, around 60 centimeters of snow have fallen, and for the diehard ski nuts it's been enough to entice them to Poland's southern mountain ranges.

"If there is snow, then everything is OK," said Agata Szałapska from the four-star Hotel Klimczok in the ski town of Szczyrk. "But, of course, we don't know what the season will be like. It's very possible that in January there will be no snow. It happened last year: December was good and in February there were only two weeks of good winter … and that was it."

Waldemar Sobański, owner of the Szymoszkowa resort in Zakopane, has also had a good couple of weeks - he just hopes it gets better so he can recoup some of the $4 million he spent last year on putting in a new six-seater chairlift and a snow-making system … and the $3 million he spent earlier on the land, installing another quad chairlift and building a ski lodge.

"Of course I'm worried about the payments so I'm not putting any more money into development; just making the payments," Sobański said. "That's the obstacle for me at the moment."

The other obstacle is the recession. At Hotel Klimczok, which sees a lot of corporate and conference groups, Szałapska said cancellations are becoming more common as companies tighten their fiscal belts. Further east along the mountains in the town of Krynica, Bartosz Siedlarski from the Tourist Information Center said the level of interest in their Christmas/New Year ski packages is much slower than usual.

"Generally, we expect there will be fewer people here this season, but it all depends on snow and skiing conditions," he said.

And that brings us to an issue that is always good fodder for an aprŻs ski conversation: Are Poland's skiing conditions any good compared to not only Western Europe, but also its cheaper neighbors, Slovakia and the Czech Republic?

"In Krynica, things are improving," Siedlarski said. "The slopes are much better groomed and we are planning on introducing lighting on the larger slopes so that visitors can ski at night too. I don't think we are affected by our Czech or Slovakian competitors."

Back in Zakopane - Poland's most popular ski town where around 100,000 people visit each day in the January peak season - Sobański thinks that conditions in Poland's ski resorts can only get better.

"The thing with Poland is we don't have a middle class like the rest of Western Europe or the United States, but I'm noticing now that some Poles are starting their own businesses and they're making some money and putting it aside for their ski holiday.

"Sure, you find a lot of people from Poland going to Slovakia, Austria and Italy - but these are people who have a lot of money and they spend it on their skiing holidays."

This season, Sobański wonders just how many Poles will be willing to travel abroad for their ski holidays - not only because of the recession, but also in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

"Maybe people won't want to travel to different parts of the world," he said. "They will stay in Zakopane and Zakopane so far is doing OK - I hear it's fully booked for Christmas."

Celia Barnes