| bagi1. 08. 2018 10:25:59 |
We got the basic idea last year when visiting Cjajnik. The parking lot at Koschutahaus was already full early in the morning, and several runners with fruit pouches on their belts were nervously preparing for the start. One of the participants explained to us that it is the annual run around Košuta, already the third in a row last year. The loop was 33 km with 2500 m of elevation gain, but for safety it mostly followed the foothills of the Košuta ridge on both sides of the border. Last year's route is visible here … http://www.trzican.si/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Koschuta-Hiking-Flyer_A4-2017.pdf
Such distances are nothing new for us, and already then we decided that we would do it ourselves one day in the crazy variant  . A nice day was forecast for Saturday and the decision was easy. For the whole feat we planned about 13 to 14 hours, with the start at the toll booth under Ljubelj. We also wanted to traverse the entire Košuta ridge, which is too exposed for runners. We did all of that completely, and cashed in the rewards at the end  .
Nothing new about traversing Košuta. Past the Košutica pasture we climbed to Hajneževo sedlo and from there via the secured path to Veliki vrh. With the sun in our faces and still fresh morning smiles, we set off on the long ridge traverse all the way to Košutnikov turn. There we had the first stop for refueling. Up to here the path is without problems, some existing protections are in good condition. We continued on the damaged transverse path above Dolge Njive towards Potok saddle. This section is torn off in several places by winter avalanches and subsequently trampled, but some extra caution doesn't hurt.
The traverse over Meli is very interesting. The first surprise was the Knafelj markings, which continue far into the Austrian side. Later we found out that this traverse was made by the patriotic Klagenfurt mountaineering club and also marked it. Not even the border guards dared to remove the red-white circles; it is just not marked as a marked path in the maps. No matter, the signs are there and they came in handy for finding the passages.
The second surprise is the appearance and geological composition of Meli. It is full of rocks of various colors and shapes, scree, eroded towers, hollows and interesting passages, even a spring can be found among all that sand. The look is quite wild and I warmly recommend checking out this area . The easiest way to do this is from Dolga Njiva pasture, and it can also be combined with a visit to Tolsta Košuta.
After Meli the direction of travel turns and we started returning on the Austrian side. Next we climbed steeply all the way to the foot of Tolsta Košuta and then headed towards the hut under Košuta via long scree fields. We walked and walked to there, crossing scree field after scree field, ascending and descending and simultaneously thanking for the rare shade. The sun shone tirelessly in our faces in that direction too. At the hut there followed the obligatory second stop for treats of various kinds, airing of shoes and checking the schedule. The times on the direction signs somehow didn't match our expectations, so we quickly packed up and immediately after the hut bit into the steepness again.
Again scree fields followed scree fields, kilometers flew under our feet, hours passed. We started descending, scree fields were replaced by different terrain. Markings are regular, occasionally less visible. The day was saying goodbye, surprisingly we were still descending, but Hajneževo sedlo was getting farther away. We shifted into the highest crazy gear, luckily there was not much fatigue yet, eyes anxiously searched for path branches in the right direction. The Kompass map did not prove itself here and we no longer relied on it  .
The sun had long hidden behind the slopes when at the last key marking in the middle of the overgrown path we finally turned towards Hajneževo sedlo. We bit and bit into the steepness, still needing to cover another 800 m of elevation. Just below the top of the saddle the heavenly light finally went out, but at least we knew where we were. With headlamps we panted to the border sign, finally caught our breath and carefully returned to the valley along the morning path. The night was illuminated for us by flashes of the overheated atmosphere with occasional thunder and was honored at the end with a small shower. But by then we were already at the car, just an hour before midnight .
In conclusion:
The entire route is long, demanding and requires excellent physical fitness. Paths on the Austrian side are not well trodden everywhere, and on top of that scree fields follow scree fields. Our opinion is that the path is not the friendliest for runners. Perhaps that is why they partially changed the route this year, connected multiple starting points with transports and erased last year's times for medals. In short, they made the event friendlier also for regular hikers.
This year's Košuta Hiking will take place on Saturday, August 4. Regardless of the shortened path around Košuta, it is a big challenge for everyone. Link to the invitation … https://www.zell-sele.at/upload/2158792_Letak_KOSUTA_2018a.pdf
And the rewards for our version of the path (data from Garmin Montana):
Distance: 43 km
Elevation: 3883 m
Time: 18 hours
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