Ljubelj - Begunjska Vrtača (Lenuhova grapa)

Access to starting point:
From the highway Ljubljana - Jesenice we go to the exit Ljubelj and follow the road ahead to the border crossing. Just a few meters before the border crossing signs for Zelenica point us to the left and after a few 10 meters of additional driving the road brings us to the parking lot below the ski center Zelenica.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we head onto the footpath that runs along the left side of the ski slope through the forest in the direction of the Dom na Zelenici hut. A wide cart track brings us after ten minutes of walking to a ski track. We continue along the edge of the ski slope and after a shorter gentle ascent a large meadow opens on the right side along which there is another track. We head onto this track and follow it to the top, where we encounter a wide cart track. We follow the cart track, which in unfavorable conditions is exposed to avalanches, to the spot where it again brings us to a ski track.
Here we leave the ski slope and head towards the south straight up the gully. The steepness is quite significant, which is noticeable as we quickly gain altitude. Somewhere approximately halfway we traverse to the left towards the NW ridge of Begunjska vrtača to the entrance into the route. The entrance is clearly visible, but for a better idea let me just say that there are two entrances. Which one we choose depends mainly on the snow conditions. If there is little snow, the entrance jump can be quite iced (UIAA 4-/M), but if there is a lot of snow, there is no entrance jump at all. After a varied start, the route opens up, which first goes steeply up to a sort of confluence of two gullies—we continue on the left one, as the right is interrupted by an overhang. In pleasant climbing we approach the snow field that divides the route into two parts. From the snow field we head into the only possible passage—continuation of the gully, which soon brings us below the exit onto the upper snow field, where the route ends. What follows is only a long traverse across the snow field to the spot where a short gully opens up, which takes us onto the ridge and thus to the summit. We descend the same route or the more recommended descent gully. The tour can be extended along the ridge to Veliki vrh Begunjščice and descend there via the Centralna grapa or grapa Y.
Although the easiest in Begunjska vrtača, the Lenuhova route is a serious tour of moderate difficulty. It can get stuck right at the beginning; if we don't climb the jump, we can try entering to the right of it, but even there we can't avoid a few meters on rock. From the made belay station we then descend into the continuation of the route.
Difficulty: IV-, 300 m—the route is not equipped. It does, however, offer many options for belaying the second. The angle ranges from 40° upwards. The steepest part exceeds 55°. For a better idea, I attach a drawing of the route and the descent.

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips, panorama, summit register