Grintovec (2558 m)

The two-thousand-metre summits of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps are a popular destination for mountaineers. The tallest of them – and also the tallest peak of this part of the Slovenian Alps – is Grintovec, a 2,558 m mountain that from a distance resembles a pyramid. Its height and its imposing rocky mass are awe-inspiring, but fortunately, it is also accessible to less technically skilled mountaineers.

Route details

Several marked trails lead up Grintovec. We recommend ascending by the technically least difficult trail, which starts by the Alpine lodge in Kamniška Bistrica (Dom v Kamniški Bistrici). From here waymarks lead towards the lower station (“V Koncu”) of the freight cableway up to Kokrsko Sedlo (“Kokra Saddle”), where signposts indicate the route to the Zois Hut (Cojzova koča) on Kokrsko Sedlo. To begin with, the route climbs up through the forest, on a path that is frequently stony and rocky. After a while the forest thins out and you will soon find yourself surrounded by rock faces on a scree slope that is traversed by the path in a zigzag fashion. Follow it to the hut on the saddle (1,793 m). From here follow the signs for Grintovec, initially on a pleasant path through scrub vegetation (dwarf mountain pine) that occasionally levels out slightly until the landscape changes entirely into a large scree-covered slope. The closer you approach the summit, the better the view. At the summit itself, which is marked by a circular summit indicator, the view opens up in all its magnificence.

The best view is towards Jezerska Kočna and Kokrska Kočna on the western side; to the north, there is a fine view of the valley of Jezerska Dolina and the peaks above Jezersko; to the east the ridge of the Grintovec group can be seen, running from Dolgi Hrbet over Štruca to Skuta; to the south you can see Kalški Greben with the Ljubljana Basin in the background.

Descent

Same route as the ascent

Access to the starting point

By car (car parks by the Dom v Kamniški Bistrici lodge and slightly above it)

Food and drink

• Zois Hut on Kokrsko Sedlo – open every day in summer, closed the rest of the year
• Dom v Kamniški Bistrici (in the valley of the Kamniška Bistrica river)
• Gostišče pri planinskem orlu (in the valley of the Kamniška Bistrica river)