Mount Hoverla (
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
and rue, Говерла, Hoverla), at , is the highest mountain in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
and part of the
Carpathian Mountains (
Ukrainian Carpathians). The mountain is located in the
Eastern Beskids
The Eastern Beskids or Eastern Beskyds ( uk, Східні Бескиди; pl, Beskidy Wschodnie; rue, Выходны Бескиды; ro, Beskizii Orientali; russian: Восточные Бескиды) are a geological group of mountain ranges o ...
, in the
Chornohora
Chornohora (literally: "Black Mountain"; uk, Чорногора, romanized: ''Chornohora'') is the highest mountain range in Western Ukraine. It is within the Polonynian Beskids, a subgroup of the mountain group of Eastern Beskids, which in tu ...
region. The slopes are covered with
beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...
and
spruce forests, above which there is a belt of
sub-alpine meadows called ''
polonyna'' in Ukrainian. At the eastern slope there is the main spring of the
Prut
The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine.
Characteristics
The Prut originates ...
River. The name is of Hungarian origin and means 'snow fortress'. Hoverla is composed of sandstone, a sedimentary rock type.
The date of the first ascent is unknown. In late 19th century the mountain became a notable tourist attraction, especially among tourists from nearby cities of
Galicia
Galicia may refer to:
Geographic regions
* Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain
** Gallaecia, a Roman province
** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia
** The medieval King ...
. In 1880 the first tourist route between the peak of Hoverla and Krasny Luh was marked by
Leopold Wajgel of the
Galician Tatra Society. The following year the first tourist shelter was founded there.
In the 20th century the mountain increasingly gained popularity as an extreme sports site. Some routes are classified as 1A in the winter period (from late autumn to May), according to the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
grading system. Nowadays because of its prominence too many unskilled extreme-lovers are taking attempts to climb it in winter, resulting in regular frostbite or even deaths. The most popular approach to the summit starts from the ''tour-basa'' Zaroslyak on the mountain's east face and gains more than elevation along a steep path with few switchbacks. There is a steeper route (marked with blue signs) and a gentler, longer one (marked with green).
In October 2007 the
far right pro-Russian
Eurasia Party-affiliated
Eurasian Youth Union vandalized the official
Ukrainian state symbols that had been placed on the summit of Hoverla.
Eurasian Youth Union outraged state symbols of Ukraine (photo)
'' UNIAN News Agency'', October 22, 2007
See also
References
External links
Hoverla climb on youtube
Hoverla Guided Tour
Info, advice and equipment lists on winter Hoverla ascents
Hoverla
– photographs and information in Czech
{{Authority control
Mountains of Ukraine
Mountains of the Eastern Carpathians
Highest points of countries
Two-thousanders of Ukraine