Calculating walking times

http://www.wotzwot.co.uk/walking-time.php

Mala Fatras - Stefanova - Velky Krivan - Vratna

A ridge walk

Stefanova - Medziholie - Stoh - Hromove - Chleb - Velky Krivan - Vratna

Sometimes, the lovely weather that is always hoped for just doesn't materialise. The recent hike in the Mala Fatras is an example of this. What views? We were actually in the clouds and there was a permanent mist lingering around on the ridges. So no brillant photos of the views from the Mala Fatras this time. Instead I will post some photos of the flowers that can be found in June.

Map used: 1:50 000, The Mala Fatras (Tatra Plan) Not a good map for micro navigation.

For those who are not inclined to hike up (or down) very steep inclines, there is the possibility to take the fast cable car from Vratna and start the ridge walk from the cable car station. It cuts out about 1 hr descent and nearly 2 hrs ascent. This part can be hazardous after rainy periods.
For more information: click here for Vratna Free Time website.
Click here for bus timetable information:
(Vratna is listed under the heading: "Terchová,,Vrátna výťah").

Enjoy!

Mala Fatra - info

http://leto.vratna.sk/pages/interaktivna_mapa.php

Walking information is HERE.

Pictorial map of the mountains: HERE

Travel information: (Bus) is HERE.
There are various bus stops in the area, it is best to type in "Terchova" followed by "," and the specific name i.e. Vratna.

Babia Gora - Babia Hora

On the border with Poland and Slovakia...

Going up through the forest from the Polish side, early one morning in May...


The paths up are well maintained, sometimes you are stepping over old border posts for Slovakia (S) and Germany too (D)!


Halfway up there is a great Viewpoint, looking back down to the green valleys below.
The higher we got, the landscape changed to an Alpine one, with pine bushes and then..




sparse vegetation and snow still on the ground, (in late May).



Our furry friend the friendly (cunning) fox.


On the border (literally).There's no shortage of folks on the summit!

hiking - saying

“You cannot help someone get up a hill without getting closer to the top yourself.”

- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

Route Cards

Here is an example of a route card!

WHY? You might know where you are going on the hills /mountains - but does any body else?

The purpose of a route card is to let others know where you are going, so that if you fail to come back off the hills the relevant authorities will know where to start looking for you if are you overdue.

You can make one as simple or as complicated as you want. The essential information to write down, (one copy for you to use on the route and one copy for others to know where you are going!):


Name of the Group Leader;

Other Members in your group;

Start Point + End Point (if different to start point);

What route you plan to take;

Time Out;

Expected Time Back!


Examples of routes cards:

1. Simple
http://www.mountainaid.org.uk/Downloads/Route_Sheet.pdf

2. More info
http://www.sandleheathseascouts.org.uk/route/route-card.pdf

Basic common sense stuff on hiking

http://www.kerrymountainrescue.ie/safety/index.html

from the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team. The same principles apply in the UK, Alps or Slovakia.

Mountain Distress Signal(s) - Do you know what it is?

The Slovak Mountain Rescue Service has their own EMERGENCY NUMBER: 18300

Tatras - photos

Video about ticks

Ticks can be found in many areas of Slovakia, so watch out for them!

Mountain safety

Mountain safety:cornices


Rule number one: treat mountains with respect and caution.

An very unfortunate incident happened over Easter in the Slovak mountains, resulting in a fatality and injuries. This was due to a cornice breaking off:

http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/encyclopedia/cornice.htm

Pictures of a cornice and one lucky skier: here

Beware of cats on hiking trails!

Recently I looked up some hiking information and I used Google translate from Slovak to English.

One word translated into English was:

mačky

which google (unhelpfully) translated as cats.. The article that I translated referred to hiking trails in Slovensky Raj, so I was a bit mystified to say the least. What cats?

but having looked at hiking kit in Slovak, it seems to be: ice crampons.

Mystery solved, (I hope).

Weather related words in Slovak and English

Weather Forecast in Slovak: Predpoved'

Here is a list of words (English - Slovak) which might be helpful in deciphering the weather forecast in Slovakia, especially the mountain weather forecast.


Click on image to enlarge.

This weekend

Most of the 'outdoor types' who actually like winter pursuits made the most of it as Spring is drawing closer every day as the snow is melting fast.

On saturday, I went cross country skiing in Kysuce, from Vychylovka and back. Today, Sunday, I went for a hike in the Terchova area. I thought that there might be less snow, but in fact most of it was still on the ground and it was deep! Today would have been a good cross country skiing day, in fact a group of skiers did pass us and mentioned that they saw bears on the route!
So Spring has arrived!

Slovak Mountain Rescue Service

For more information check out their website:

HERE

Go to the right-hand side of the main website for

Aktuálne informácie z hôr [Current mountain information]

It includes information on the mountains conditions (avalanche dangers), such as:

	Vysoké Tatry
	Západné Tatry
	Nízke Tatry
	Veľká Fatra
	Malá Fatra Further information on avalanche dangers can be obtained from this website: www.laviny.sk

As the information is in Slovak: the words to watch out for are:Weather forecast = Pocasie
lavínové nebezpečenstvo = avalanche danger

pešia turistika = hiking
lyžiarske túry = ski touring

dobré = good
obmedzené = limited
zlé = bad

WEATHER FORECAST

General Mountain Information where to go?

Decisions, decisions, where to go? What to do?

I'm a little stuck at the moment, as what to do in Easter, (the 1st week of April). Which mountains do I go to and what can I do there? I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone, not quite the skiing season, but not yet the hiking season either.

Decisions, decisions.....

An overview of all of the mountains in Slovakia can be found HERE.

Firstly, I'll look at the: High Tatras.


Then the Low Tatras (1), (2 here).

The Slovak Spectator - travel articles - mountains

The High Tatras

Guide to the High Tatras with a selection of trails and info on safety & equipment.

Slovensky Raj (Slovak Paradise)

Tatras mountains in UK newspaper

Join the Tatra pack: Skiers can expect low costs and high excitement in Slovakia

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Winter time

Slovak English Hiking vocabulary

Cesta Road / journey

Chodnik Path

Cestička Trail

Hora Mountain

Les Wood, forest

Lúka Meadow

Horské sedlo Col, saddle

Most Bridge

Kopec Hill

How do I get to…..? Ako sa dostanem do/k/na….?

How long does the hike take? Koľko trvá tá túra?

How long does it take to get there on foot? Ako dlho sa tam ide peši ?

Mountain weather forecast

Click here to see the latest met information.

Books - hiking in Slovakia

Recommended books

Knapsacked travel series.

This is a series of hiking guides for a number of regions in Slovak. Some are available in English and other languages.

Pocket sized guide containing a number of hikes, classified according to difficuly, time, route plan and maps.

Publisher: Dajama

More Kysuce hikes

http://www.visitslovakia.com/kysuce-and-javorniky/

Kysuce region - Walk -south of čadca

Walk 1 (Hike, X - country skiing route)

href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CNat%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml">

čadca - Husarik - Chotarny Kopec - čadca

Map: No 109 Javorniky 1:50 000

Circular walk - easy, (tarmac road, waymarked trail) First leg RED, 2nd leg GREEN

Distance: 15km

Caution: Be aware that logging operations may take place in the forested area.

(1:20 hrs) Centre - Husarik, 3kms on tarmac road - ascent. Caution: traffic. You pass through the village of Butovci, where at the end the road splits in 2, take the left hand road up to the hotel Husarik.

(2:00 hrs) Husarik - Črchl'a, 3kms on paths. Continue past the hotel following the track down for 15 mins, on the way you will see on your left a small chapel. After 15 mins walking, you will see a junction and on your right there is a cross and information post. Take the left hand side path that leads to a small hamlet. As you pass through the hamlet you will see typical Slovak country houses made from wood. Contine straight on, on the way you will encounter another information post with another hiking trail (yellow mark). [Note: This yellow route will shorten the walk by 2 hrs and takes back down to Rieka and back to Cadca]. Carry on following the red mark on the track until you get to open ground, take the left track across the field,(half way there is a telegraph with a waymark). Continue straight until the woods ahead of you where the track veers to the left and ascends once more. Continue along this track, past another modern house on the left, where the track turns sharply to the right. As you ascend the track, ahead of you is another typical Slovak wooden house, where the track goes to the left. Continue to go uphill, past another chapel on your left and further up, another house. Past this house, the track becomes a path and gets steeper. CRCHL'A. At the top, there is another information post and a wonderful viewpoint over the surrounding countryside,where in good weather you can see the Mala Fatras in the distance.

You have now reached the half way point of the walk.

(1 hr) Crchl'a -Kýčera - 3 kms

Now you are joining the GREEN waymark trail, so at the information point, turn back to head back the way you came,but after 20m, join the right hand side path that descends steeply towards the east. Again, you are in open countryside. After 250m, you will see on your right, a picnic area, together with an information board. There is a well in the adjacent small wooden hut. This location has wonderful views to the south.

Follow the track, past a farmhouse to your right until you reach the woods. Continue strainght down through the woods on the main track, (green waymarks), heading due north. Just before the village of

Kýčera, the track road veers to the right. As you pass through the village, you will see on your right, a wooden chapel. Follow the road through the village, then take a left turn at the information post. Walk to the next chapel and the next information post, where the track becomes a path that goes to the right.

Continue pass the small cemetery on your left, descending down into woods once more.

Kýčera - Cadca

Continue down until you reach open fields once more, carry straight on to reach the adjacent woods on the opposite side, take note that the next section of the trail is slightly to the left of the woods, where you will reach the top of the old ski area. Once at the top of the ski area, keep to the right hand side, where the path restarts. This path takes down to a group of flats, where you will join a pedestrain path, go right and continue straight down until you reach Bila supermarket.

The most information about mountains in the Slovak Republic, hiking & cycling routes, accomodation, general information on mountain regions and skiing info.

In English, slovak, German and Polish.

It is a simple and clear website and full of useful stuff!

Slovakia Mountains

Welcome to Slovakia Outdoors!

Here you can read about walks, places to visit in Slovakia.