Ljubelj - Begunjščica (via Šentanski plaz, snowy approach)

Access to the starting point:
From the Ljubljana - Jesenice motorway, take the Ljubelj exit and follow the road to the border crossing. Just 10 metres before the Ljubelj tunnel, the signs for Zelenica direct us to the left and after a further 10 metres the road leads to a parking lot under the former ski centre Zelenica.

Path description:
From the parking lot, follow the former ski slope towards Zelenica, or take the parallel marked footpath (kolovoz) through the forest. After about 15 minutes, the two paths merge, and we continue our ascent under the Begunjska Vrtača scree. A little further on, the path splits again, and we continue straight on towards Koča Vrtača (or right along the transport-rescue road, which merges higher up with the path past the hut mentioned above (the latter path is more exposed to avalanches than the one past the hut)).
When you reach Hut Vertatscha, the less steep part of the trail is behind you, with the steepness of the former steep ski slope in front of you. At the top of the break, the aforementioned service road joins us from the right, and we leave the path leading to Zelenica at this point and continue our ascent left along the Šentanski avalanche. There is a steep climb of about 500 metres, and then we take the right exit onto the ridge (slightly left approach towards Begunjska Vrtača), where the slope of the avalanche becomes even slightly steeper. The last part of the ascent may be difficult due to to little snow blown by the wind, or the last part may be icy, or both. When there is a lot of snow, the passage can be made more difficult by huge boulders, which are particularly dangerous in warm weather when they can break off and fly down the avalanche.
Once on the ridge, you reach the marked trail from Prevala, which is usually under snow in winter, but orientation is not a problem, as you follow the ridge all the way, or walk slightly left of the ridge. A few minutes higher, you reach the summit, from which you can already see Veliki vrh in the Begunjščica ridge, which is only a few minutes' climb away.
The route described above is prone to avalanches, especially in the upper part, but also to slips.
Description and pictures refer to the situation in 2017 (February).

On the way: Koča Vrtača mountain hut (1288m)

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