Poiana Brașov for Strong Skiers: The Black Runs and How to Ski Them

Set your expectations first

A strong skier arriving from the Alps should know what Poiana Brașov is: a compact mountain with roughly 800 metres of lift-served vertical, a handful of genuinely steep pistes and snow that is more than 90% machine-made. Skiresort.com puts the difference in level at 842 m, from 941 m at the lowest point of Lupului to 1,783 m at the top of the Kanzel T-bar. You will ski every black run in a morning. What makes it worth it is the quality of the steep pitches when they are freshly groomed, the fall-line character of Lupului and Subteleferic, and the fact that you can do it on a weekend from a city full of good restaurants.

The other truth is the ice. Artificial snow that has been groomed at night and frozen hard by a clear sky is fast and grippy at 09:00, and by 14:00 on a sunny day the steep upper sections of the blacks are hard, scraped and polished. The best advanced skiing in Poiana happens between the first lift and about 12:30.

The black runs, one by one

Figures are from the official 2025/26 technical sheets published by the resort's information centre and the cable-car operator.

Lupului (upper) — 2,605 m long (3,266 m with its variants), 728 m of vertical, from 1,703 m down to 975 m, averaging 28 m wide. This is the longest and most sustained black on the mountain, dropping through the forest on the western side to below the village. It is served from the top by the six-seat Ruia chairlift and from the bottom by the Lupului chairlift. The Romanian national championships ran their giant slalom from the top of the Ruia chair down Lupului in February 2026, as a test event for the European Youth Olympic Festival — a good indication of the gradient.

Subteleferic — 2,200 m, 650 m of vertical, from 1,700 m to 1,050 m, 35 m wide and FIS-homologated. It runs straight down the fall line beneath the cable cars, which means an audience above you. It reopened on 22 January 2025 after years out of use. There is a dedicated drag lift on its lower half; the official lists include it, although mapping data marks it as disused, so check on the day whether it runs.

Kanzel — only 297 m (814 m with variants) and 109 m of vertical, but 50 m wide and the highest piste of all, from 1,760 m to 1,651 m just below Postăvarul's summit. Because it is the highest run, it usually keeps the best snow on the mountain. It is reached by the Kanzel cable car or the Capra Neagră cable car, with a short T-bar of its own.

Ruia — around 540 m and about 200 m of vertical, homologated for competition, under the Ruia lifts. Short, steep and ideal for laps on the chairlift without going back down to the village.

The race slopes. Locals also talk about Doamnei, which starts below the upper Salvamont hut and hosted the Balkan ski-mountaineering championship on 17 March 2026, and 1D, used for the slalom at the 2026 national championships. They are not on the official list of seven homologated pistes; treat them as variants and follow the day's piste map.

The red that skis like a black

Sulinar is officially intermediate — 2,820 m, 635 m of vertical — but in the morning it is the fastest cruising run in Poiana: wide (35 m), consistently pitched and with views over the Bârsa plain. When the blacks turn icy, Sulinar and the upper section of Drumul Roșu are where strong skiers go for speed.

A strong skier's day

1. 09:00 — Kanzel cable car straight to the top. Two or three laps on Kanzel while the corduroy is intact.
2. 09:45 — Subteleferic top to bottom, then back up on the Postăvarul Expres gondola.
3. 10:30 — Ruia laps on the six-seat chairlift: the Ruia pitch and the upper Lupului.
4. 11:30 — Lupului in one go, all the way down to the Lupului chairlift, before the sun and the crowds get to it.
5. After lunch — Sulinar and Drumul Roșu at speed, or stop. The blacks are not much fun after 14:00.

Off-piste and ski touring

Postăvarul is a real mountain, and rescue on it is the job of Salvamont Brașov (dispatch 0725 826 668, or 112). If you leave the pistes, do it with a local guide, full avalanche kit and a current avalanche bulletin; do not go alone. The official resort rules allow uphill ski touring on Drumul Roșu in the evening, until 22:00 at the latest, starting from Bradul or from Pub Rossignol, with reflective clothing and red lights — a lovely way to climb after the lifts close. Details are in our night skiing guide.

Kit

Bring or rent skis with sharp edges; on hard artificial snow it matters more than anything else. Rental shops in the resort offer race and premium skis — one established shop listed them at 250 lei a day in 2024/25 (checked September 2026, prices will change). See ski rental and ski schools.

When you have skied it all

• Sinaia is the obvious day trip: lifts to over 2,000 m at Cota 2000 and two steep blacks, Carp and Târle. It is about an hour's drive in theory and much more at weekends on the DN1. See Sinaia and Bușteni and our guide to the ski resorts near Brașov.
• Mid-February 2027 will be special: the European Youth Olympic Festival runs from 14 to 21 February, with the alpine races on these very slopes. Expect closures for training and racing — and the chance to watch the next generation on Lupului.

Practical

A day pass cost 240 lei in 2025/26 (checked September 2026; the 2026/27 prices are usually approved at the end of October) — see ski pass prices. Check the weather for wind, which can stop the cable cars, and the lift status on our ski page. The complete overview is in the Poiana Brașov ski guide.