Krížna, january 2, 2005
This action was created out of blue inside the heads of two young chaps who take their lives as an immense
adventure as well as a nonesuch challenge of tasting from as wide range of flavours being brought by life as possible.
Initially, we didn´t even guess what kind of delicasy we´d chosen, since this area was unexplored by and unknown to us.
From the early hours the weather was adverse-like, but it failed to put us off. In Turecka, a kind of dorp
somewhere near Old Mountains, just faint traces of snow which naturally made me a bit anxious. "Shall I climb,
with the board on my back
, up rocky and muddy slopes?" I regard the life as optimistically as you can get it, so I made my way up
abreast of my companion, Vlado, who was carrying just a backpack, heavier than the whole of my tackle (rig), though.
After some 300 vertical metres the mud and boulders were hidden underneath a 20 centimetres snow cover. My optimistic pictures started
to come true. At the foothills it was just a sleet coming down, but as we were climbing upwards the fall was more and more frozen and
the wind was growing stronger. The climb itself was a little steeper than we´d got used to. We tramped straight up the scarp, no S-like tracks, no diversions.
Going further up the side wind with snow affected our faces more and more by an uncomfortable sensation of pricking (jabbing) needles. The visibility was up to 10 metres,
because of the strong wind and heavy snowfall. The pylons of the ski tow, which runs up to the chalet, were the only footholds for us. There is a snack bar, "At the Dog-fox",
in the chalet, which worked, astonishingly, even in that weather. There we were welcomed by two great people, who´d been there since Silvester. We had some tea there and warmed ourselves up.
The summit was aproximately 30 minutes away from there. We took so about two and a half hour to get to the chalet. The track was marked by long rods thrust in the snow.
We could hardly have found the way, if they hadn´t been there because the visibility dropped to 5 m at most. We had to struggle against the wind but now and then I used my board like a
sail helping me up.
Just then it was the third degree of snowslide danger declared. We came to know from the tourists in the chalet that that´sthe very steeps of Krížna
which are the most liable in Slovakia to get avalanches. Neither
that information nor any else didn´t discourage us. We´d got too high up not to attack the summit. The impression of conquering the
top, so grueling one, in such a weather conditions was simply setting free. We overcame (crushed) human convenience, dullness
(dailiness), fear and we triumphed over ourselves. The feeling of freedom was even propped up by the one of leaning against the wind -
just to relax and dismiss all the thoughts.The descent was easier knowing the way, however, the heavy fog prohibited us from seeing
the footholds. I was already going down and I waited at each of that leading rods to obviate loosing each other.
At the chalet our tracks disjoined, I enjoyed mine on the board, Vlado on his buttock, now and again. I waited him
above the rocky stage and we made it down together. Feelings of happiness attended us many days after. It was really a successful drive.
What to add to the end? Just, show up and you can experience what we do!!!