Debela pec ski tour

Overview

This is a typical Pokljuka mountains ski tour. Good roads enable a short, relatively easy tour, and the prize is great: skiing from one of the most panoramic summits of Triglav group.The first part goes through nice Pokljuka woods, then we reach high meadows and finally nice open slopes of the main summits. Descents from two summits will be described: from Debela peč itself and from only 8 meters lower summit of Brda.

General Information

Difficulty: It's an easy ski tour, with only one a bit steeper, but not exposed passage. The tour is appropriate also for less experienced skiers, but in a short section through a bit more dense woods they can experience some unexpected fun.

Orientation: The mountains above Pokljuka are very frequented also in times of tour skiing (actually then relatively even more than in summer). So the trail to Lipanca huts is almost always well beaten. Also inscription plates are very good, on all crossroads you will find inscription: 'Lipanca'. Also from the huts on both summits there is usually a track. If there's none, you simply go northwards and use the most obvious passages. Only if you come there after really heavy snowing as the first visitor, you may have issues with orientation. See the GPX track in the header!

Exposition: There's no serious danger of fall or more exposed slope.

Slopes orientation: The slopes are mostly south oriented, so on a sunny day snow can soon get soft. The exception is below in the woods. On the Debela peč ascent the final part goes across the western slopes of Okroglež bump. There the snow can be hard in the morning.

Objective dangers: The majority of slopes is relatively safe of avalanches. Dangerous can be the slopes below Lipanca and the steep passage on the lower ridge of Brda. In Slovenian mountains avalanche risk report (on the international 5-points scale) is issued every day.

Best months: The tour can be done throughout the whole winter and spring, usually there is enough snow from December till April. Due to some flat sections a lot of fresh snow doesn't bring much to attractiveness of the tour.

Gear: Only usual gear for tour skiing. As there are many visitors also with snow shoes or even with only ordinary shoes, also snow borders may hope to find a beaten track on top.

Tour start: When the road is cleaned, then we park north of Javornik meadow, on 1292 m. When reaching on Pokljuka plateau (either from Bled or from Bohinj), we deter on a mountain road on Mrzli studenec, 1213 m. From there we drive towards the NW, on Kranjska dolina meadow we keep left and drive by the road in western direction. The parking place north of Javornik meadow is quite big, but you can still find it full. The continuation of the road is usually not cleaned, so the summer trailhead 'Pri Rupah', 1350 m, can't be used in times of tour skiing. If the mountain road to Javornik meadow is not cleaned, then we start the tour on the main Pokljuka road, which is always cleaned. From Mrzli studenec we drive further towards Rudno polje, but just after the side road deters left to Sport hotel, we park by the side of it. Then we follow the track, deterring right from the road. Direction is north, to Javornik meadow we need 30 minutes.

Highest point: Debela peč: 2015 m, Brda: 2009 m.

Altitude to overcome: cca 740 m on Debela peč and 725 m on Brda.

Time for ascent: To Debela peč 3 h, to Brda 2 h 45 min.

Route Description

From the parking place north of Javornik meadow, 1292 m, we go by a well marked (and usually well beaten) trail towards the N-NW. The first section is very flat and we mostly ascend through nice Pokljuka woods. On 1400 m the trail crosses another mountain road (not cleaned), now we already walk in the NW direction. But inscriptions (and beaten trail) soon turn us right and the path starts crossing more steep forrested slopes - we go towards the N. On some 1500 m there's another crossing, our trail turns sharp left, westwards. When gaining some more altitude we get around a corner and ahead of us is a nice, open valley. At the end of it the last grassy slope below Lipanca meadow awaits us, the three mountain huts are just above the valley step, on 1627 m. 1 h 15 min till here (or from the main road 1 h 45 min).

In Pokljuka woods

Below Lipanca meadow

Lipanca huts

From Lipanca huts we continue a bit right, so that we avoid quite a deep basin north of huts. The trail soon starts crossing in a slight ascent quite steep slopes, but then terrain gets much nicer. Light woods, mostly of larches, are ideal for skiing, the ascent track leads us northwards. Left below is the main valley, leading on Lipanska Vrata (notch, summer passage), ahead of us is a quite steep barrier of Brda. Soon we reach its base and the trail starts ascending through a steep passage, right of some rocks. There we ascend in many hairpins, in winter that slope can be dangerous for avalanche.

Above the passage we find ourselves on broad, slightly slanted slopes of Brda. For the summit of Brda we have there two options, for Debela peč, only the right trail is suitable. Going right, we soon cross 1800 m and find ourselves on a broad SE ridge of Brda - the nearby elevation is called Spodnja Brda, 1844 m. We continue ascending and partially crossing broad slopes in N direction. On 1940 m we gain the main ridge - on the saddle between Brda (on the left) and Debela peč (on the right). Great N and NW panorama opens there!


For Debela peč, we continue northwards, now crossing the W slopes of a small, rounded elevation, called Okroglež, 1965 m. Later we even descend a bit and finally the quite steep summit slope of Debela peč is ahead of us. We ascend it in many turns. Skiing down from Debela peč goes all the time by the ascent route.

For Brda summit we continue from the small saddle on the main ridge towards the left. Direction is westwards. The ascent route goes left of the distinct summit ridge, a bit higher we do one or two turns up and soon the summit ridge brings us on top. Skiing down from Brda summit by the East variant goes almost entirely by the ascent route.

Brda summit ridge

Reaching Brda summit

On the summit

Brda West variant descent: From the summit you ski down by the very nice southern slope. So you reach a broad valley, descending towards the SE. You best cross it and ski by the slopes west of it, lower we gain the SE ridge of Brda foresummit. That's the ridge which forms the barrier above Lipanca, so we must keep left, until we descend to the passage where we came up. There we turn right and continue on Lipanca and further down by the ascent route.

Images

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