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Let’s surmount 3 ski touring trails in the Low, High and Western Tatras together.
Ski tour: Mt Chopok, The Low Tatras
Mt Chopok is usually associated with great skiing in Jasná or ski touring along the pistes in winter. But this time, we’ll take a look at a slightly different ascent route. Mt Chopok doesn’t have to be just about touring along ski pistes. There are several other off-piste alternatives in the Chopok ski touring area and we’ll show you one of them now.
The tour begins in the area of Zadné vody, where there are also cross-country skiing trails and resort snowmaking reservoirs. You can park in the Otupné car park or take a ski bus. The tour runs through a beautiful fairytale-like forest at first – the valley of Zadné vody. After hiking for about half an hour and crossing a stream several times, you will reach the crossroads of Tri vody.
From there, you can continue along the yellow-marked trail to the Poľany saddle or turn left and follow the red-marked trail to Brhliská. This is the route we are taking, and from Brhliská, where a cable car station is located, we continue through open terrain below the Orlia skala (rock) area. At the crossroads below Orlia skala, the ascent gets steeper and we zigzag up the slope until we reach Luková. This part is full of views and without skiers up to the Luková station.
From there we continue along the official ski touring trail along the ski piste to reach the summit. Here, caution must be increased and the traffic on the piste must be watched. The number of views will be growing, but the greatest reward comes on the summit itself.
After surmounting more altitude metres, we find ourselves at the Rotunda building. It’s a beautiful sunny day outside, unusually calm, so we don’t hesitate to take our skis off and make the final ascent to the summit of Chopok on foot. And here comes the best reward. A sense of accomplishment and breathtaking panoramic views.
On this ski tour, we climbed 1,000 altitude metres and completed 12 kilometres in total. At the end, we enjoyed skiing down the hill and had a great day behind us. Are you looking for a ski touring route off the pistes, but still want to be close to the resort? This route could be a great choice.
Ski tour: Smutné sedlo (saddle) in the Western Tatras
The Western Tatras offer plenty of opportunities for ski touring. Such as the area of Žiarska dolina (valley), which is like a playground for enthusiasts of this sport. This time, we’ll head to Smutné sedlo (saddle) at the altitude of 1,962 metres.
Our tour begins at the mouth of Žiarska dolina (valley), where there is a large chargeable car park. From there, it is a 5-kilometre-long easy and comfortable ascent to the Žiarska chalet. This part is ideal for ski touring beginners but also as a regular walking trail for families with children. We pass the chalet, though. When planning a tour, it’s essential to always monitor the current weather, snow conditions, avalanche situation and not to forget the mandatory avalanche equipment.
The mild inclination continues also after the Žiarska chalet. Today, we are lucky to have beautiful inversion weather. We reach Mt Prostredný grúň, which divides the area into Veľké Závraty (left) and Malé Závraty (right). If we went to the right, we would reach Žiarske sedlo (saddle) via a marked trail. It’s an excellent choice to do ski touring, especially for beginners.
This time, we turn left below Mt Prostredný grúň and start gaining altitude. After a while, panoramic views open up and we can admire the massive peaks of the Western Tatras – Príslop, Baníkov, Hrubá Kopa and Tri Kopy. The trails in the area are well trodden, so it’s not difficult to find one’s bearings. We continue to follow the trodden path until our destination for today appears – Smutné sedlo.
Smutné sedlo is very popular among ski tourers and mountaineers and is relatively wide, so it’s almost always well-trodden. The steepest part of the tour – the last section to the saddle is ahead of us. It’s necessary to know the technique of ski touring turns well and keep a sufficient distance.
After surmounting it, you’ll be rewarded with beautiful views of Smutná dolina (valley) in the north and other peaks of the main ridge will appear too, such as Plačlivé, Ostrý Roháč and Volovec. To the south, you’ll see Žiarska dolina (valley), majestic Mt Baranec and also the Low Tatras.
The entire ascent took about 3 hours, we completed 10 kilometres and climbed 1,100 altitude metres. Skiing from the saddle down and back through Žiarska dolina (valley) is fantastic afterwards. We stop at the chalet to have a soup and a great trip is behind us.
Ski tour: Zbojnícka chalet, The High Tatras
New park rules have been valid in the Tatra National Park since 15th December 2023 and have made several areas accessible for winter hiking. The area around the Zbojnícka chalet in Veľká Studená dolina (valley) is one of them. We’ll show you a ski tour to the Zbojnícka chalet and then to Malý Závrat (saddle).
We set off from Starý Smokovec along a green hiking trail to Hrebienok. But we don’t stay there too long and continue until we reach a crossroads above Rainer’s hut. There, we turn left into Veľká Studená dolina (valley) and take the blue trail. We follow a path well-trodden by ski mountaineers, forests alternate with snowy plains, gradually revealing increasingly beautiful views.
The weather is on our side, with picturesque azure skies and no wind. So, we take our time and slowly make our way to the final ascent to the Zbojnícka chalet. After surmounting a steeper section, we are finally there. The chalet and piles of options for more demanding ski mountaineers behind it. If you’re looking for a comfortable, easier alternative in the Tatras, this is a very enjoyable ski tour full of views of the surrounding mountains. Plus, it runs to a high-mountain chalet, where a tasty lunch after the effort feels just perfect.
For more experienced ski tourers, there are plenty of options behind the chalet. Always decide based on the current conditions and monitor the avalanche situation. Mt Svišťový štít can be seen from there too and is also a great ski touring destination. We continue past Starolesnianske pleso (tarn) and have Mt Zbojnícka kopa on the left. Then we reach Ľadové pleso (tarn), which is located just below Malý Závrat (saddle).
Here comes the technically more challenging climb to the saddle of Malý Závrat, located at an altitude of 2,270 metres between the summits of Mt Kresaný roh and Mt Malý Javorový štít. We’ve covered 10 kilometres and climbed 1,100 altitude metres.
After enjoying far-reaching views, we remove our climbing skins and the descent follows. The inclination in the upper part of the gully sometimes reaches over 40 degrees, so don’t underestimate anything and carefully consider your abilities and conditions before going up.
We ski the other slope down past Mt Zbojnícka kopa and head towards the Generál piste. But we don’t use the blue hiking trail and rather ski below the path, although towards the end, we encounter hikers. In some sections, we have to put our skis on our backs and continue on foot to Hrebienok, from where it’s a quick descent.
The High, Low and Western Tatras offer countless ski touring options for both beginners and advanced ski tourers and mountaineers. We’ve shown you the top 3 ski touring routes of different difficulty levels and it’s up to you what you choose to enjoy your adventure.
This article has been created in cooperation with MTHIKER.sk, where a lot of other trip suggestions can be found.
