On Thursday, February 26, sunny conditions prevailed at Kasprowy Wierch, which attracted many skiers. The route in the Goryczkowa Valley was closed last winter. This year's season was also in doubt, but the lift finally started, although only on February 18. Skiers enjoyed the route for less than eight days. The chairlift was paralyzed on Thursday by an engine failure. The skiers were evacuated.
Kasprowy Wierch is the highest ski resort in Poland, operating in the Tatra National Park. The routes are covered only with natural snow – due to nature protection regulations, no artificial snowmaking is used there. Access to the slopes depends on adequate snow cover along the entire length of the routes, and the route in the Goryczkowa Valley is particularly demanding in this respect (the second chairlift operates in the Gąsienicowa Valley).
The lift in the Gąsienicowa Valley, called by malicious people a “relic of the Polish People's Republic”, was built in 1968. It has two-person chairs and is 1,684 m long. The ride time is 15 minutes, which gives a total capacity of 730 people per hour.
This infrastructure requires regular inspections. It has been operating for decades thanks to ad hoc renovations. PKL had previously considered modernizing the ski lift, which would increase the capacity to 2,400 people per hour. The investment would require replacing all supports and rebuilding the station. The problem is, among others, too weak winters, which make such an investment unprofitable.
In June 2025, the Provincial Administrative Court in Kraków overturned the environmental decision for this investment. The court pointed out that the expansion of ski infrastructure in the Goryczkowa Valley has no rational justification in the light of climate change. The justification cited the fact that in the last two seasons the lift was not launched due to lack of snow.
On Thursday, there was an engine failure on the chairlift leading from Kasprowy Wierch to Dolina Goryczkowa. Due to the fault, Polskie Koleje Linowe (PKL) decided to immediately suspend the operation of the lift and evacuate skiers in an emergency mode.
“Due to the situation, all skiers who were on chairs at that time were safely transported to the lower station by train in the so-called substitute mode, which, in accordance with the procedure, is activated in such cases,” PKL said in an official statement.
PKL assured that no passengers were hurt, and hot drinks were distributed on site to people waiting at the lower station.
Service work is currently underway to remove the fault in the electric motor. After their completion, the railway will undergo technical inspection by the Transport Technical Supervision, which is a necessary condition for restarting the lift.
Skiers who decided to go down the ski slope to Kuźnice could use the cable car to Kasprowy Wierch free of charge and continue skiing in the Gąsienicowa Valley. PKL refunded the full cost of ski passes to people who decided not to continue riding in accordance with the regulations.
“We apologize for the situation and the inconvenience caused,” the company adds.
Service work is underway to remove the fault in the electric motor of the Goryczkowa railway.
When will the lift start? “Due to ongoing maintenance works, the chairlift in the Goryczkowa Valley is closed. The planned date of opening the chairlift is Tuesday, March 3, 2026.” – we read.
