Klínovec is a summit on whose slope lies a ski resort with a long history of winter sports.
Klínovec is a summit on whose slope lies Skiareál Klínovec, a ski resort with downhill runs, ski lifts and cable cars. A historic hotel used to stand on the summit; according to the resort operator, it provided athletes with a base from the earliest days of the mountain's use for winter sports [1].
The beginnings of skiing
According to the resort operator, the sporting use of Klínovec goes back to the early 20th century [1]. Materials from the interwar period document the adaptation of natural ski jumps, and the remains of the largest of them are still visible today at a place called Fuchsloch [1]. The jumps were used by Czech and German skiers from the neighbouring areas, and they held mutual competitions in ski jumping on them [1].
Shortly afterwards, downhill skiing also began to develop on Klínovec, when part of the forest was cleared and the first downhill runs, called Dámská and U Zabitýho, were created [1]. The resort operator states that the origin of these names is unclear today, and several stories are attached to them, among others about the violent death of a person or about a fatal accident of a racer on one of the runs [1]. The slopes served both recreational skiing and downhill races [1].
Closure after the Second World War and restoration
After the Second World War, according to the resort operator, the whole Klínovec area became inaccessible, because it was included in the border zone [1]. The restrictions were lifted in the 1960s, which allowed the development of the resort to continue [1]. The first step was the construction of a ski lift on the U Zabitýho run, followed by the building of further lifts and the founding of a ski club, which restored competitive skiing on Klínovec [1].
Development in the 1960s to 1980s
From 1968, according to the operator, the development of the resort continued at a rapid pace [1]. In that year a two-seat lift was built on the Dámská run, and two years later the lift on U Zabitýho was replaced with a better type [1]. In the years 1974 to 1978, two more runs, Přemostěná and Pařezák, were created by clearing forest [1]. By 1980 two more lifts were added, one on the run now called Pod Zámečkem, the other on Přemostěná [1]. In the 1980s the first machine for preparing downhill runs was acquired and run no. 4 was lit [1].
Privatisation and modernisation
In 1991 the resort was bought, in the course of small-scale privatisation, by a private company, which by its own account still owns it [1]. During the following two decades the existing runs were extended and further investments were made [1]. In 1998 the construction of a snowmaking system began, which according to the operator's data covers 80% of the resort [1]. In 2011 a new retention reservoir was built and 60 snow cannons were installed [1]. During the modernisation the lift on the Dámská run was replaced by a cable car, and slope-preparation machines were purchased, which according to the operator are constantly being modernised [1].
Snowpark and Superpipe
In 2003 a new snowpark for snowboarders was built in the resort [1]. It includes a U-ramp of the Superpipe type of FIS class, which according to the resort operator has repeatedly been used to host world snowboarding competitions [1].