| VanSims27. 07. 2014 22:22:09 |
Last Saturday I arrived a bit late in Kot. First, I drove quite confidently over that road wreck; I don't know if they fixed it a bit since the last time I was there or if I've been there so many times that I handle it now or if I'm just confident driving on mountain roads.   No, no cows, so no need for some to ask  ; but I saw someone's complaint about the road in the upper posts and... well, maybe a bit friendlier reaction from some but still in the style: that's how it is, what can we do! 
I park. Yeah, and second: practically no cars, only about ten. You can see Triglav isn't accessible to wide tourist masses yet. Unlike last time, easy parking. Then I set off.
Standard route to the turnoff for Vrban Spires. On the way a bit below Debel kamen I meet someone who was scrambling around off-trail (PP if I got it right), we chat a bit then I head on. Due to the late hour I was a bit afraid of storms though he reassures me there probably won't be any. He says it's nice up there. Yeah, he was right!
At the via ferrata entrance I gear up. First cables, nothing special then it starts slowly. The path turns upward and some free climbing follows (surely no more than I), then more cables and then the thing to specially warn about:
It's a SMALL LANDSLIDE, the path is all covered in dirt. Dry, no big issues; wet, it can be a phenomenal slide  so I don't recommend ascent then.
After that soon to the ridge. Oh yesss, exposed (for vertigo sufferers of course the path isn't at all). Already on the ascent nice views to Karavanke with Kepa, Dovška baba,... here joins the view to the 'neck' side of the Julians. Saw Cmir, Škrlatica and around still foggy. The ridge is well protected, enjoyable and soon I reach the first Vrban Spire. Short break then descent back to the path and on.
From here the path gets a bit nastier: scree and exposure. They could put a cable there at least on that long scree ledge. Then protections again. High Vrban Spire rises steeply before me. Not that the ferrata goes straight up here (well on descent from Stanič it seemed logical where it's routed ). Before the final ascent the path goes down and up for a while, with aids. Two vertical spots (one even down over a drop) protected only by pegs with no cable seemed a bit scary to me. Otherwise the ferrata didn't seem overly hard to me, but it probably ranks in the upper class of our ferratas. Say harder than Hanzova on Mojstrovka last weekend.
The ascent to Great Vrban Spire is then well protected and no big deal. Up top a quick bite because I'm in a hurry. I don't want to overnight at Stanič despite no crowds. I look around, mighty Škrlatica appears, ha then Razor and oho who's that in the distance: only Jalovec shows from behind the clouds! Očak before me stands lonely (otherwise descending or even ascending even in late hours). Maybe better so. This season it will rest a bit from the influx of crowds from practically whole Europe.
Just below the summit a close encounter with a wild chamois, who of course won't let itself be petted like e.g. sheep (sometimes). My cookie eating he watched only from a distance of a couple of dozen meters. At Stanič the keeper says I have plenty of time for descent. That's a fair move, though I had to light up already below. And we found one of the positive things about Slovenia: non-commercialization. I don't know... in Austria he would probably list a hundred and a hundred reasons for me to decide to sleep in the hut (dark, steep, danger... rather absurd )!
On the way from (or to) Stanič last weekend there were still snow patches, all passable with care and of course help of poles. Just before the last pegs before Kot it got so dark that I had to light up. I haven't descended pegs with a headlamp in one hand yet.  But I reach the car nicely in pitch darkness. Otherwise bivouacking a couple hundred meters higher wouldn't be so freezing if you put on everything from the backpack.
It was already late so they had beer only on the highway at the pumps and only non-alcoholic, ice cream only the one on a stick 
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