I was very grateful for the fixed wire and metal stakes which lined most of the route from here on, without which it would certainly have been considered a rock climb. As such, it still wasn't a walk in the park, with a few tricky moves appearing without protection and some delicious exposure. Once on top of 'mini Triglav', the gradient eased, but the ridge was very much a knife edge often less than a metre wide at the crest. One short but quintessentially alpine snow bridge sticks in the mind. All this simply added to the exhilaration however, since at no point were the conditions dangerous or the moves beyond me - they were just continuous.
I reached the summit about 1hr15 from the hut and took a moment to absorb the stunning views and grab a few snaps. The summit itself was quite covered in snow, although thankfully the ridge hadn't been. I arrived at the same time as half a dozen others, so there was plenty of hand shaking and mutual photo taking before I decided to head back down the ridge. Care was obviously taken, but it was in descent that the fixed wire really became useful, making it easier than I had expected. The round trip to the hut took just under 2hr30.
After that we made our way to the Dolic hut for lunch. This was another high-level hut that had only just opened for the summer and whose running water was thwarted by the late snows. On the way we had to negotiate some steep snow slopes without crampons and plenty of traversing on snow and rock. None of it was particularly hard, but it required concentration and would have been easier in a month's time! Some of the rocky bits were great fun though.
After more 'vegetable' soup in the sun outside the hut, we traversed more snow slopes to a plateau before descending into the '7 lakes' valley. Our approach to the first lake was accompanied by thunder and although the rain never got particularly heavy, it was persistent enough to ensure we didn't dawdle too much around the lakes. It would have been nice to spend more time there, but since one of our rain jackets wasn't superb, we pressed on to the '7 lakes' hut, some 2 hours down the valley. This was a very cosy and jolly place, which was much needed to replenish our energy stores. It was also much busier, being at a lower altitude, with many people considering the climb up to Dom Planika in the less favorable conditions.
After that we made our way to the Dolic hut for lunch. This was another high-level hut that had only just opened for the summer and whose running water was thwarted by the late snows. On the way we had to negotiate some steep snow slopes without crampons and plenty of traversing on snow and rock. None of it was particularly hard, but it required concentration and would have been easier in a month's time! Some of the rocky bits were great fun though.
After more 'vegetable' soup in the sun outside the hut, we traversed more snow slopes to a plateau before descending into the '7 lakes' valley. Our approach to the first lake was accompanied by thunder and although the rain never got particularly heavy, it was persistent enough to ensure we didn't dawdle too much around the lakes. It would have been nice to spend more time there, but since one of our rain jackets wasn't superb, we pressed on to the '7 lakes' hut, some 2 hours down the valley. This was a very cosy and jolly place, which was much needed to replenish our energy stores. It was also much busier, being at a lower altitude, with many people considering the climb up to Dom Planika in the less favorable conditions.
A panorama of the summit
The ridge on the left, with the Dom Planika hut on the right.
The Vodnik hut is in the far distance on the snowline behind Dom Planika.
Atmosphere on the ridge - there are people on the ridge in the centre.
Hilde negotiating a steep rocky section en route to the Dolic hut.
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