Powderday
The valley of Logarska dolina is a hidden gem, one that I’ve been extremely fond of ever since I was a kid. I’ve visited this extraordinary valley more than a thousand times, but I still can’t get enough of it. Whenever I enter it, I’m always stunned by the beautiful vista of the mountains rising above it. The backdrop is truly exceptional. The mountains and their walls are great for climbing, hiking, and skiing. It was no surprise, therefore, that I visited this paradise twice in the previous week.
Rinka Fall
On Thursday, our goal was the top of the Turski žleb couloir. We skinned past the Rinka Falls, where we took of our skis and bootpacked up to the source of the Savinja River. There we put our skis back on and continued to Okrešelj, where there’s so much snow that you have to walk through a snow tunnel to reach the shelter of the mountain rescuers.
Cajz cottage
The snow cover is at least two meters thick. We followed the skin track that brought us under Turska gora, where Milan traversed underneath the couloir, where we strapped our skis to the backpacks. As we were climbing, some skiers were already enjoying their descent in excellent powder snow.
Skinning Line
Turska peak & Rinka's mountaing
Pasje sedlo
But higher up, the snow became much more wind affected. The last meters were very steep and we were greeted by strong winds at the top, which brought windchill temperatures down to minus 15°C. We quickly got ready and skied down to Okrešelj on excellent snow. Once there, we again put our skins back on and climbed to the col of Pasje sedlo. From the col, we skied all the way to the valley and the snow was truly
fantastic.
Despite feeling very tired from an illness, I returned to the valley again on Saturday. This time we were headed up to the peak of Škarje above the mountain hut at Klemenča jama. This tour was a bit more difficult in terms of logistics and we encountered very difficult conditions on our way up.
Pow....der
We skinned beneath Ojstrica and past Rjavčki vrh to a broad ledge just beneath the top of Škarje. We switched to ski mode and skied down the left side of Rjavčki vrh all the way down to the road. Down to an altitude of 1,400 meters, the skiing was the best I’ve experienced the whole season. The abundant powder was slightly wind affected in places, but it skied great everywhere.
High above Rinka Fall
Krofička
The lower part, however, was somewhat of an adventure. We skied through thick trees and down steep sections interspersed with steep rocks.
Several of the trees had been damaged by the storm-force winds a while back and we were relieved to finally make it to the road, which we followed to our car. Such tours are definitely worth living for and the after-ski beer tasted even better than it usually does.
Danilo Tič
