| j.16. 03. 2017 11:32:28 |
Yesterday: with a (slightly higher clearance) car I drove to the end, especially the last 500 m uphill on the slope it was scraping a bit, so maybe better to park a bit earlier, there is plenty of space. I started at six in the morning, conditions were ideal, not even a single footprint sank to Kredarica. The path was well trodden, a bit below Prgarca someone had nicely routed a variant to the right through the scrub.
At the saddle between Kredarica and Mali Triglav the northerly was really blowing hard, so I was wondering how it would be on the ridge. The guy who came towards me told me that it was already much better right after the traverse to Mali Triglav and that on the ridge it wasn't as bad as at the saddle. And it was true. The footprints in the shaded entry slope held well, likewise in the first traverse, everything was more secure on foot and that's good. It seems to me that using the ice axe there is mostly for morale (if you jab the shaft into the slope, it holds questionably, if you want the pick to reach the ice below, you have to hit multiple times to get through the snow to the ice underneath and that takes time). In the second traverse right after the corner and up the footprints also held, only the sun was pressing and the snow had already become somewhat crusty during the ascent (around ten o'clock), but on the descent it turned out that the conditions hadn't deteriorated significantly. Probably due to the wind, which could still be felt somewhat even in the shelter and was cooling the snow.
In this area I first met two of our ropes, then I think two or three (probably) Polish parties. One was explaining that he had lost something on the north side but couldn't say what.
The snow ahead was dry and held well. At all other critical points braids were visible, so no problems. Perhaps the exception is the short ridge (about 20 meters) at the entry to the slope of Veliki Triglav, which is narrow and the protections are not visible. Due to wind gusts that can disturb balance on such sections of the path, I was very careful there.
At the summit I was alone. The tower was half in the snow, I stroked and patted it. A little later another hiker joined me, without knowing that I had done the same, he also stroked the tower. Well, he even had completely identical ice tools, haha. With the obligatory photographing, a friendly chat on the lonely summit was quite fitting.
On the descent to Kredarica there were no problems, only the footprints on the entry slope were quite churned and collapsed by the predecessors. From Kredarica down (around two in the afternoon) it went the same as up: without crampons. A bit before the edge of the forest the snow was already southern and sinking in places, it was even worse further to Prgarca, where I sometimes sank to my waist. From Prgarca onwards the snow was more worked over, so there were no postholing issues and walking was comfortable.
Also for ski tourers: the track was fully made in the morning, but the sun almost completely melted it during the day (the other hikers contributed a little), so here and there only the direction is visible. You can ski to the car and beyond, which might last another week or two.
At Kredarica they are friendly as always, the coffee seemed a shade better yesterday  .
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