Hoverla Comfort

Meeting at the station in Ivano-Frankivsk no later than 10 am. Introducing the group, the instructor provides rental equipment (order it in advance). We take a chartered minibus to the village of Lazeshchina, where we turn off the highway into the forest and continue to the Kozmeschik tourist center (4 hours on the road). These are several houses lost in the forest at the foot of the Montenegrin ridge. We check into one of the huts, change clothes and go for a short briefing on crampon movement techniques and how to use ice axes. Don't worry, there's nothing complicated here. This equipment may only be needed on certain sections of the climb. Most of the way we will just walk along a path in the snow.

After dinner we go to bed almost immediately - we have to get up early tomorrow.

Today we have to walk a little less than 20 km. On snow, the group's speed rarely exceeds 2 km/h. So prepare for at least 10 hours outdoors. Even if we leave at 7 am, we will return at 17:00, which is actually night in winter time. Therefore, be sure to take flashlights with you. As well as tea in thermoses, lunch snacks, warm jackets, first aid kits, and much more.

From Kozmeschik we begin a smooth ascent through the coniferous forest. Later, beyond the Gropa valley we come out to a more open area, we walk along the ridge - one of the spurs of Goverla. Moving along it, we go around the Kotel tract and find ourselves on the slope of Goverla at an altitude of just over 1800 meters. We rest a little in a tiny hut-shelter and go out to storm the summit. And here we may well encounter sections of the trail where, under the influence of the wind, the snow has turned into dense firn - almost ice, on which it is safer to walk with an ice ax and wearing crampons. But with the same success, the winter Carpathians can delight us with ankle-deep mud and snow, soggy from the rain.

From the top of Hoverla there is a breathtaking view of the Montenegrin ridge, endless Smerek forests and distant Romanian mountains. We hide from the wind, take pictures and have lunch. We go down to Kozmeschik along the same road that we came here.

Petros is slightly shorter than Hoverla. But its slopes are steeper and more dangerous, and therefore you should not relax. The main thing is to listen to the instructor in everything.

After an early breakfast we set out on the route. We will walk a significant part of the way along a quite comfortable dirt road winding in the forest between the Loshchina and Greblya tracts. At the Golovcheska meadow (altitude 1500 meters) the forest recedes and we find ourselves on the ridge connecting Petros and Goverla. This is the Crossing Point and from here begins the very steep climb to Petros along the eastern ridge. We have to overcome 500 meters vertically and here again we may need crampons and ice axes.

The top of Petros is much less crowded compared to Hoverla. Another plus of this mountain is that it offers an indescribable view of the snow-capped Goverla. We take victory photos at the top (and this is where ice axes come in handy again), have lunch and begin our descent. Going down is much easier, but there is a risk of losing the path and jumping onto a steep cliff. Therefore, we must try to keep everyone together, not stretch out on the slope, and follow the instructor closely.

From the foot of Petros we go back to the forest - to the Kozmeschik base. Tomorrow you can finally get some sleep, which means tonight you can start celebrating the end of the active phase of your trek through the winter Carpathians.

A minibus will pick us up around lunchtime. Before that, you can take a walk in the forest, organize a bathhouse, or just sleep to your heart's content. According to the plan, we will be in Ivano-Frankivsk around 18:00. But just in case, it is better to take return tickets for trains departing after 21:00.

The instructor has the right to make changes to the route depending on the weather and the condition of the group.