Travel

I'm off to Kranjska Gora for a weekend in early Feb. As I can't be bothered with skiing with the rest of the group, can anyone suggest some good day walks in the area?
I wanted to do Triglav but at that time of year it's a bit too ambitous for a day walk.
Thanx

We were in Ribcev Laz on Lake Bohinj in May of last year so most of snow had disappeared, although after a particularly hard winter there was still lots "on the tops". Didn't get up to Kransjka Gora, but if it is like Bohinj you will enjoy. We found "Walking in the Julian Alps" by Simon Brown, published by Cicerone, useful. Sorry cannot be more specific!

done some walking/cycling in the area when it was Yugoslavia;anythink high will have snow and associated problems but there is an easy pleasant walk around lake Bled and up A nearby peak (cant remember its name) and good walking around lake bohinj and the percivic waterfall.
If its open the vrsnic pass out of kranjiska gora is cycling par excellence and that leads to the excellent canoeing around bovec.
The caves at postogna are huge and well worth A visit (if you like show caves!)and if you have the energy the beautiful plitivice lakes are only A few hours away by car.. in spitting distance from Austria and N. Italy as well,shame you haven,t got two weeks!

Justin,

I stayed in Kranjska Gora for a few days in summer 2000, so bear in mind that all my experiences relate to walking in hot, dry conditions!

I can also recommend the Cicerone guide to the Julian Alps, although it is now a little outdated. I notice that a new version is due to be published in May - sadly a bit too late for your trip.

I climbed Spik, a 2500m peak which is one of the closest to the village, but this was a long day's walk (nearly 12 hours in total). The route is interesting and scenic although there's some tiresome scree on the upper slopes.

A quicker way into the mountains is to start from the top of the Vrsic pass. There is a local bus from KG to Bovec which will drop you at the top of the pass, but I'm not sure if it operates in winter. From the path you can strike off up Mala Mojstrovka for an easy half day outing, or Prisanck on the opposite side of the pass for something a little more challenging.

I did not climb it myself due to a lack of time, but you are correct in saying Triglav in a single day would be a serious undertaking, if at all possible in winter conditions. There are a couple of mountain huts in the vicinity which you could use to break the walk into a more comfortable 2-day outing. From the North side the best approach is from Mojstrana, just down the valley from KG (there are buses linking the two villages). You walk up a tributary valley called the Vrata - from memory, there is a hut at the head of the valley which many climbers use as their base for routes up the north face. The walking route to the summit flanks the huge north wall.

Justin,
"Walking in the Julian Alps" by Simon Brown is highly recommended, as is "Mountaineering in Slovenia" (Sidata) which came out in 2003 - an absolute cracker of a book. Available on line from www.themapshop.co.uk. A popular option is to use the cable car at Kranjska Gora to get some quick and easy height and walk many of the well marked trails from the upper cable car station. I have found if you email the contacts names at either www.humanfish.com (based in bled) or www.promotana.com (Bled), they will provide some excellent local knowledge up front and you can find out snow levels / difficulty of a particular walk ahead of travelling out.

Thanks for all your help. I've decided to hire a guide and let them show me around. i can always go back in the summer and do some independent walking.