Tysovets ski resort

This is a mid-2000s travel snapshot of the Tysovets ski resort, not current prices or open status. Tysovets is located 32 km from Skole (Lviv oblast) on the Kyiv-Uzhhorod train route. At the time the resort could be reached by car or taxi from the Skole train station (about 80-100 UAH per car). Base elevation - about 900 m above sea level, maximum - about 1100 m. Aside from the Tysovets ski area, there was a "beginners' slope" next to the parking lot (see pictures below) suitable for beginners and lower intermediates. A day pass then cost 60 UAH - the same as for the Tysovets ski area 2 km away. Unfortunately, the passes were different, so you had to choose one or the other.

To get to the Tysovets slopes, you took an old single-chair lift or drove your car to the top of the mountain 2 km from the hotels. From there you could ski on one of three nice wide runs. One was good for lower intermediates and ended at the half-way point of the chair lift. The other two were for intermediates and upper intermediates, respectively, and had their own tow lifts.

Runs were groomed every day or two, which was very nice, but the tow lifts themselves were quite slow. Lines of up to 20-30 minutes could accumulate on weekends (still better than Slavsko). The toilets at the top of the chair lift were in deplorable condition (I took a picture, but decided not to post it here). However, nice skis were available for rent at the base of the mountain for 40-90 UAH per set.

Tysovets is an old Soviet ski training base. The ski jumps that Olympic athletes used to train on (see pictures below) still stood then, but were no longer used. In the mid-2000s much of Tysovets was still run by the Ministry of Defense, and you could see soldiers in uniform clearing snow. In the Tysovets hotel cafeteria (see below) you would also find "Soviet" prices - 50 kopecks for a cup of compote, 1.30 UAH for borsch, etc. Snacks and hot, cold, and alcoholic beverages, as well as more substantial meals were available in several places for prices that were quite reasonable at the time.