Triglav - super hill

14/15-09-12

Superloo on Triglav - is that why it is called Trig Lav?

Whenever anyone has asked 'what's your favourite mountain?' for me, the answer has been a struggle and usually I have said 'every mountain has its merits, who am I to judge between them'. In future, I think I may well answer - 'Triglav, until another one comes along'.
Most mountains have left me with a feeling I am glad that I have done it and will not need to do it again (sometimes with a sense of relief). A few mountains leave a feeling that it may be worth going back to them again, however with a sense that I probably won't unless it is to accompany someone else. With Triglav, I definitely want to go back and try some of the alternative routes.

 So, what makes it special?
1. It simply looks magnificent and the views from it are equally good.
2. It has the stats - it is an Ultra 2864m P2052; the highest point in the Julian alps; the highest point in Slovenia; the highest point of my trip, so far (although only the third most prominent) and possibly likely to remain so
3. It has the status - it is Slovenia's national mountain, it features on their national flag.

Coat of arms is Triglav with two wavy blue lines representing the Adriatic and local rivers

4. It had the right level of technical difficulty. As a trainer i used to talk about a buffer between one's comfort zone and the danger zone known as the learning zone. By going into the learning zone the comfort zone eventually gets bigger and the danger zone is pushed further out. A combination of snow and via ferrata was learning zone stuff.  During my descent, three ascending parties asked me whether there was snow on the trail above and when I confirmed there was, their responses sounded like 'ooh er, missus' in their own languages - so maybe it was learning zone stuff for them, too.

So far on this trip every mountain/hill has been bagged by ascending and descending on the same day. With Triglav it is possible to do the same, but I decided for once I would spread it over two days and I am more than pleased with my decision.

In the previous two days I had been confined to the van by torrential rain. On the day I chose to ascend to the Triglavski Dom the weather had cleared although there were still clouds that shrouded the mountain tops. The torrential rain had fallen on snow at higher altitudes. It promised to make the via ferrata sections on the trails to need even more 'steady steps'.

Aljazev Dom

I started from the car par park at the head of the road in the Vrata valley, near to Aljazev Dom.
Several hundred metres up the wide trail there is a memorial statue of a giant piton and karabiner, that also marks the junction for the Tominskova Pot (way). I took this route which rises steeply into the forest to meet an impossible looking steep and wide wall of glaciated limestone.

XL protection

The path would rise for a while on the wall and give the impression that I was about to break out onto a plateau (although knowing quite well that was not going to happen) and then become a traverse around or even down a large buttress. Some of those traverses were on narrow ledges that on a sea cliff would be occupied by gulls and would only just accommodate them. After a couple of hours of this rising and traversing the track goes around the final buttress of Begunjski vrh to meet up with another route, the Prag Weg. And a sign showing I was half-way there.

Begunjski vrh

Triglavski Dom na  Kredarici (2516m)

The Slovenians invented Karst scenery and the next section provided plenty of it - with the added element of snow hiding some of the route markers as well as hiding the clints and grykes on the ever rising limestone pavement. In addition, it was misty and dusk was only an hour or so away. So no time to get lost here then. At first this was prevented by the fact that a large party of people ahead of me were visible and were leaving footprints. However, I soon overtook them - this party raised concerns later as they did not reach the dom until long after dark.


There are some steep VF protected sections on the path and on one of them the snow was knee deep. Surely the dom isn't far now? Difficult to tell in this mist and light. Please be soon I have forgotten to bring a torch. It is getting less steep, but there is a lot of scree - at last I can see some outbuildings. Please let there be a bed available. I am happy to say I shared a dormitory, a bottle of Magister and a game of Cierny Peter with a group of Czech students. And my fears about not being able to get a vegetarian meal were allayed by a large bowl of barley soup.

Snow covered limestone pavemen

Temperature inversion

Woke up in the morning to clear blue skies and a temperature inversion that filled the valleys with clouds. Said farewell to the Czech students and headed for the magic Triglav. After some initial scree the track follows a series of VF protected snow filled grooves on the buttress of Mali Triglav to meet another route from Dom Planika. Both routes then go over the top of Mali Triglav to reveal the final route to Triglav itself.

Via ferrata (VF) and snow

Mali Triglav (left) and Triglav

 

 

 

 

Triglav from Mali Triglav

This follows a narrow ridge down to a bealach before rising steeply to the summit.
Even though quite early there were already quite a number of people sat around the metal Aljazev Stolp which looks a bit like one of those superloos to me. But who cares about that - just look at the view.

On the Prag weg

Going down I met the nervous Czech students on their way up - for most of them it was their first experience of mountaineering. As for me, no time for nerves the views were too consuming. Although it did start to cloud over a bit as the day and I progressed. Back down to the Dom back across and down the limestone pavement which seemed a little easier in full daylight and an hour or so later a stop for lunch above a large corrie flanked by the huge north wall of Triglav. Somewhere in that corrie the Prag weg finds a way back down into the Vrata valley. It did but it seemed to take forever before finally reaching the river and the relatively easy trail back past the giant karabiner and to the car park.

Vrata valley

Action Mangart/Mangrt

Action man

 11-09-12

Italian - Slovenian border mark

Having spent the morning doing a few errands - including getting the van serviced after doing 10,000 kilometres on this trip - I was looking for something quick and easy. So, having spent all of 36 hours in Slovenia, I thought I would pop into Italy.

Mangrt from the military road

As it happens, not for long as my destination was Mangart or Mangrt which is one of those border mountains that will be familiar to anyone following this blog. So, I was soon back within Slovenia.

The key to Mangrt is the pre-war Italian built military road that rises all the way up to Mangartskelem sedlu or saddle at 2072m - the highest road in Slovenia and  higher than the Norwegian highest road that I drove up all those weeks ago. The downside is the 5 Euro toll, the upside is the absence of a long walk-in to where the action is.

Mangrt has two main via ferrata routes to the summit - the Ferrata Slovenia trail which is on the Italian side of the mountain, and the Ferrata Italiana trail which is on the Slovenian side. Most people go up the harder Ferrata Slovenia trail and down the easier Ferrata Italiana one (which actually is the harder one if you start lower down from the Nogara bivouac). In the event, I missed the turn for the Ferrata Slovenia and did them in reverse - and enjoyed the whole thing immensely.

Harnessed

Coming down the Slovenian trail was a treat and it was the first time that I felt the need to use the lanyards and carabiners on my via ferrata kit, in earnest, on a couple of vertical sections. When paying the road toll I was given a leaflet which says that the Slovenian trail 'is not appropriate for the giddy' - that should have ruled me out then.



















If you look at the photo below you can see the deep groove that the Slovenian trail follows.

Grooving the Slovenian way

Mangrt from the bottom of the military road

Valle della Lavina- Slovenia

Went up the other Slovenian Ultra

10-09-12


Well, that was enough of Austria for a while. First time in Slovenia - last time I was here back in 1971 it was Yugoslavia and I was hitching east, not looking for limestone Alps riddled with caves/pots.
Just over the border from Austria are the Kamnisko-Savinjske alps and the highest point in that range is another Ultra, Grintovec (2558m P1706).

Grintovec cows take it lying down

Cojzova Koca hut

Unfortunately, when it comes to a map of Grintovec it is divided by two maps. I wasn't prepared to pay for both and at the time of looking did not know which way I was going to tackle it to only buy one. So, armed only with a GPS and accounts I had read on the peakbagger website I set off into the unknown.
I drove to the top of a rough track from the Kokra valley to a small car park at Suhadolnik (897m). There was a home-made looking sign saying five hours to Grintovec via the Cojzova Koca hut. If that was true it was going to be a long day.

The headwall

At first the track was an unpaved road not much different from the one I had driven up. It went past a farm with cows and then into the forest. As the track ran out I could see a sign pointing to the right so followed that. It lead me steeply up through the woods to the foot of an almost vertical headwall and then for a while up a dry stream bed. Presumably, in the spring, when the winter snows melt this path is unusable except by those who enjoy gill scrambling in very cold water. After a while, the path followed a long traverse to the left where it met another path coming up from the base of the headwall. I remembered reading about this choice of paths on the website, but hadn't expected it to be so soon.
From there although I suspect it would be marked on the map as a 'steady step' path it was not too difficult to climb, very steeply at times, to the Cojzova Koca hut and a welcome cup of fruit tea. 

C K hut from above

Grintovec view

The track above the hut traversed upwards for a long way round the side of the main summit before rising more steeply over rough ground to a col. From there it was more rough ground on a zigzagging path to the summit.

Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus)

Chuffed Alpiniste

Wooden stairs - nowhere near Bedfordshire

As ever with mountains you have to go down them as well as up. And, although it hadn't taken five hours even if you include stop time, there was still a long way back. After the usual chat with the few other baggers I set off back and found myself overtaking people who had left the summit well before I had even reached it. It was not long before I reached the hut and decided to just keep going - if I stopped I feared my legs would stiffen up. Down the steep valley and to the headwall and the alternative way down. This route was a lot more organised - not quite handrails down the side of Malham Cove maybe, but there were wooden steps and walkways that made it a kind of 'via pinetta'
At the foot of the wall was an entrance to a cave which brought back memories of caving when I was much younger, mainly in the Yorkshire Dales, but also in the Mendips and the Pyrenees. However, even if I had had a helmet and carbide lamp with me there was nothing to encourage me to go thrutching and scrabbling through the entrance to this pot.

Mountainous anthill

Just a bit further down the path I came across a large pile of pine needles that was teeming with ants. Without wanting to make a mountain out of an anthill, it looked a lot bigger than the photo implies.

Grintovec - on the right

Thrilled to Zirbitzkogel

09-09-12

Zirbitskogel from Linderhutte

A Sunday, so no matter where I go there are going to be many others. So why not share the day with them on an Ultra. Zirbitzkogel (2396m P1502) in the Seetaler alps, the 43rd most prominent mountain in the Alps has got to be the easiest Ultra so far, for me. Indeed I deliberately added on an extra top and a longer way back to make it worthwhile going out into the brilliant sunshine.

Thrilled to bag another Ultra

Most people left their vehicles in the car park of the Sabathyhutte (1820m). I left mine about 600 metres down the road because I wanted to leave it in the shade - stops my fridge from defrosting, you see. From the hut I took the dashed red line hiking path 316 through the woods to a meadow surrounded Linderhutte. From there it was back into the woods for a while and then on open ground getting steeper and rougher as it passes Winterleiten lake. The last bit was the steepest, but the path was fairly easy going.

No idea, just one of several things on the summit

Zirbitzkogelhutte and bell

On the ridge the path became an unpaved road to the Zirbitz KG hutte which sits at 2376m, twenty metres below the nearby summit. The summit has various constructions including yet another flipping cross and a memorial to the world war 1 and 2 dead. The top and the hutte were very crowded and there were many bottles of beer being drunk.
I could have just gone back down the way I went up and been back at the van well before the fridge had time to defrost. however, I decided to explore the ridge and headed SSE down track 308 to an unnamed saddle at about 2053m and then up to a summit, Fuchskogel (2214m P161).

Fuchskogel

Zirbitzkogel from Fuchskogel

This time the cross was not at the summit, it was on the edge of the escarpment overlooking a corrie containing the Lavant lake and river. I circled back round the corrie to the saddle - and used a path marked on the map but barely visible on the ground to avoid having to go back to the Zirbitz KG summit again. Then I followed track 322 which initially was a wide well used eroded path but inexplicably became another barely obvious path and no-one else around. At first I thought I had gone the wrong way, but the occasional markings on rocks confirmed that I was not astray. When the path crossed a track that would take me back to Linderhutte, I deliberately broke the rules and instead of using a marked trail I used an unpaved road that zigzagged through the woods to take me directly back to my van - and the fridge was still cold enough for the milk not to have curdled.

Zirbitzkogel from the east

Which way is Triglav?

Grosser Pyhrgas

08-09-12

Gr Pyhrgas

At some point on this trip I resolved that at weekends I would try to keep away from the more popular hills. This resolution has failed for two reasons. Firstly, when you are retired every day feels the same, so weekends sort of creep up unexpectedly. Secondly, there does not seem to be any unpopular hills.
I thought if I chose a hill that I have no idea how to pronounce it would not be crowded. However, as this particular hill is not so difficult and is quite near to the A9 (no, not that one - the Austrian one) there were plenty of others there. And, the majority did it the opposite way round to me - so plenty of time to practice saying 'Guten tag', although I am convinced they were all saying 'gesunt'.

Grosser Pyhrgas (2244m P1250) is about six kilometres north west of Gr Buchstein in the Haller Mauern and the 78th most prominent mountain in the Alps.

Despite the numbers of people I was able to find a parking space in the shade quite near to the Bosruck hutte (1043m). From there I followed the crowd for a short while and then turned left up a hiking trail marked Gr Pyhrgas, that everyone else ignored. It rose moderately steeply through woods and meadows, there was a junction where I turned left and then a right turn on to 'steady steps' track 614 which wound its rocky way through dwarf pines and against the flow of other walkers. Not sure this track really needed steady steps myself. It came out on a saddle on a broad ridge and then it was a simple walk to the (inevitable) summit cross and logbook.

View of summit from saddle

Pure gas - with Gr Buchstein in background

Going back I went back to the saddle and then went down the almost people free Hefersteig track 615. Although not overly difficult this one did require 'steady steps' and I quite enjoyed the odd bit of klettersteig on the way. I certainly felt it was the best way to descend the mountain.

On the Hefersteig

Rohrauerhaus and the Hefersteig

Down in the woods I found the Rohrauer hutte (1308m) and indulged in a beer before heading back to the van on an easy path.
Maybe not the most taxing day - but a P1250 is not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

Bosruck

Doctor, every time I move my head I get a ringing noise in my ear

Grosser Buchstein stops here

07-09-12

The rain has gone and the sky is blue. And, just across the road from Hochtor on the other side of the Gesause vally is a Major, Grosser Buchstein (2224 P1363).

Gr Buckstein from Hochtor

Hidden in the trees off the road is a car park for the Jonsbach train station which is across the river Enns, that can be crossed by a wooden bridge. Inexplicably, there is a no cycling sign which prevents using an unpaved road (continuous red line track 608) that gently rises through the forest on its way to an alternative (and more popular)starting point at Gstatterboden. At Rauchboden track 641 turns off uphill towards the Buchsteinhaus hut (1546m). This is a steep, long track that is generally quite easy walking - at the steeper moments it traverses back and forth across the slope. Much of the time the track is in mixed woodland with occasional glimpses of the summits of Gr Buckstein and Hochtor across the valley.

Buchsteinhaus

On a number of occasions, it is impossible to avoid the huts and refuges as the  tracks literally go along the verandah of the huts. Buchsteinhaus is no exception to this, so you have to walk the gauntlet past the people who always look to me that they have already been to the top and back and regard later comers like me as lazy. Still, it is a chance to have a cup of tea and hang my buff on the back of the seat to let the sun dry out the sweat it has accumulated.

Buchstein from near the haus

From the haus the track becomes one for 'steady steps'. The trees become dwarf pines and the path is steep and scree filled.  Nearer the top there are three options - the klettersteig (via ferrata), the climbers route and the 'normal' way - all are steep. Most people go up the klettersteig and down the normal. So, why should I buck the trend on Buchstein? I am not totally convinced that is the best way round - it could actually have been easier in reverse - because there is just less helpful metal on the normal way.

Via ferrata

Buchstein summit cross

The summit ridge is a walk not a scramble, for once. And, there is another of those flipping metal crosses on the top. As ever, I filled in the logbook.

And then found my way down.

 

Buchstein trig point

Buchstein summit

Despite the torrential rain the previous day, the stream bed coming off the hill was absolutely dry. However, on the way up I had seen that at some time the stream had quite damaged an unpaved road used to transport supplies to the haus. I assumed that this had been like that long term. On the summit looking down I could see there was someone in a yellow vehicle way down the mountainside, but didn't really give it any thought. On the way down, at the point where the stream crosses the road it had been fully restored. Then it occurred to me, the previous day's rain had caused the damage and that the restoration is probably a routine that is often repeated.

Just in case anyone thinks this sounds an easy day out - it turned out to be one of the longer daily distances of the trip. All that traversing adds up. When I got back to the little hidden car park, I ignored the no motorhomes sign and had a lovely quiet night by the river Enns.

Buchstein summit view