Supplies for the postal service on Sněžka will be carried by porters instead of using the cable car

Pec pod Sněžkou (Trutnovsko) - The method of supplying the well-known post office at the top of Sněžka will revert to the mid-20th century due to the termination of cable car operations today during winter. Provisions and other supplies will be carried to the summit by hired porters. The first interested parties for this unconventional job have already signed up, said Daniela Blahová from the post office to ČTK. The porters could have work for two winters, as the new cable car is expected to start operating in spring 2014.
     In summer, supplying the post office will be relatively straightforward. "We have been granted limited permission from the Polish administration of the Krkonoš National Park to transport supplies by car from Karpacz to the summit," said Blahová. The post office has been supplied this way since May of this year when the upper section of the cable car stopped operating.
     However, in winter, access to Sněžka by car is not possible. "We try to stock up before winter, but the specific need for porters will only be shown by the actual winter operations, which mainly depend on the weather," said Blahová. According to her, potential porters are being recruited from participants of this year's July Sněžka Sherpa Cup race. Carrying loads in backpacks to the post office will be sporadic, and it cannot be expected that this will result in a business in the Krkonoš for the entire winter.
     The profession of porters supplying Sněžka originated in the 19th century and ended after the cable car was built in 1949. Until then, porters from Velká Úpa supplied the then Czech Hut in various ways, walking to the summit via Růžohorky and Růžová hora. On the 7.5-kilometer-long route, they had ten stops, and the strongest porters carried loads of up to 100 kilograms on their backs. According to Blahová, modern porters will mainly carry beer and other drinks as well as various light snacks.
     The post office itself, according to Blahová, will remain open as before despite the interruption of cable car operations. Any changes in opening hours, for example due to extreme weather, will be available on the post office’s website.
     With the termination of cable car operations, a decrease in visitors to the summit can be expected. "We believe that the decline will not be so significant as to threaten the existence of our business at the post office. Visitor numbers depend more on the weather than on the cable car, which often ceased operations due to wind," said Blahová. She noted that a large percentage of visitors are Poles, for whom the cable car stoppage from Pec will have no impact.
     The modern wooden structure of the post office has been serving the public since August 2008. Last fall, the original owner sold the building to entrepreneur Milan Blaha from Moravská Třebová. Construction of the new cable car began this spring, and the upper section was halted in May; the lower part will not operate either starting Monday.