Let's continue with stories. Last year towards the end of the year I decided for an ascent to Grintovec from V konec. I started the path towards Kokrsko sedlo, at the starting point there was only one car, I thought that on such a day there would be quite a few cars and hikers there. But I met no one until the saddle. I continued the path towards the saddle, just before coming out of the beech forest I put on crampons, took the ice axe in my hands, put the helmet on my head. A bit further, before the view to the saddle opens, I spot blood, it surprised me a bit. The previous day someone had fallen and got injured. The snow was hard, on top icy, the ice axe went in only with the spike and even that was hard, the crampons gripped well, but the icy ground was worrying, if I fell there was no way I could stop, since the whole terrain from the beech forest to the top of the saddle was ice everywhere, nowhere did it penetrate, on top there were piles of dry snow, just right to step on that, crampons wouldn't grip and the fall would be bad. I fought my way to the top of the saddle, the whole time climbing very carefully for sure. At the top of the saddle I meet two more who had fought through from the other direction, to the top of Grintovec somehow normal, winter conditions, crampon steps formed, penetrable. Below the top of Grintovec I spot two more hikers who wanted to climb the gully, but unsuccessfully. When back at the saddle a heavy descent was ahead, I didn't go further, but almost the whole time backwards, the ice axe each time with the spike hammered through the ice and fought to the forest, there I sighed in relief. No one kept me company even from the saddle, if I had fallen and been seriously injured I would have been in big trouble.
Around the spike - serrated part of the ice axe.