Černá hora - Janské Lázně

The praise is for the fast gondola and the near absence of queues: riders report getting to the top with barely a wait even at weekends. Visitors like the long, varied descents, the roomy learning areas, the floodlit evening run and the free ski bus between the villages. Families single out the toboggan run, which for small children often becomes the highlight of the trip. Summit views and the cross-country trails nearby also earn warm words.

The surface and the weather draw the criticism. February reports are full of fog that sits on the mountain almost every day and of ice that turns a descent into hard work. Grooming is called weak: by midday there are ridges of scraped snow and bare icy patches, and the blue runs are worn through to the ground in places. Guests feel snowmaking is not enough, call the lift pass expensive for that quality and find the valley run-out cramped.