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