Ruski križ - Veliki Oltar (on NW ridge)

Access to the starting point:
First drive to Kranjska Gora, then continue driving towards the Vrh Leh pass just before the 3rd serpentine of the Ruska or vršiška road, you will see the Russian Cross on the right and a small parking lot on the left, where you park. As the parking lot is relatively small and quickly full, you can also park a little higher up in the larger parking lot just above the 4th serpentine (in this case we have to descend a little to our starting point at the Russian Cross).
The starting point can also be reached from the coastal side via the Vršič Pass.

Path description:
Just before the 3rd serpentine of the Ruska cesta, we will notice the mountain signs for Koča v Krnici along the road, which direct us slightly to the left to the wide cart track, which immediately starts to descend moderately. After a few minutes of descending through the forest, the path is laid and leads us to the dry Pišnica riverbed. Just after crossing the stream, the path turns slightly to the left and leads us out of the forest onto the vast grassy slopes of the mountain pasture in Klin, where we see a secluded hut on the right and the small memorial park of Mali Tamar on the left. The path ahead is completely laid out and then joins the forest road coming from the former Hotel Erika or the bridge over the Velika Pišnica. Continue right here and follow the relatively steep forest road all the way to Koča v Krnici, which is reached after about 20 minutes of further walking.
From the hut, head left towards Špik. After a few minutes you reach a torrential ravine along which you then climb. After a good hour's walk from Koča v Krnici, the marked trail to Špik crosses the ravine and then climbs up the left side of the ravine. However, as the marked path leading to Špik moves away from the ravine, you will notice a less well-trodden path that climbs moderately upwards along the ravine at the foot of the scree. The path ascending the ravine is full of rubble and, due to frequent storms, full of unstable rocks. The path, which is slightly less visible in parts, leads us further along a slightly narrower ravine which splits into two parts higher up. Continue along and along the right-hand gully, which leads us slightly higher to the extensive scree below the northern wall of Škrlatice. Initially still quite visible, the path crosses these scree slopes slightly to the left and crosses them mostly at their foot (cross-climb to the north). Further on, the bivouac in Velika Dnina is soon visible on a small rise below an indistinct peak. If it is foggy and if we do not know the route, it will be difficult to find. It is about a three-hour walk to get here. You can climb further to the bivouac, which is a little off the trail, but an ideal place for a short or longer rest. If we decide to bypass the bivouac, we continue along a barely visible path that climbs up the increasingly narrow scree slope. The strenuous scree then ends and we continue our ascent along a scabby gully, which soon leads us to the first anchorage below the overhang. A key section (good II) follows a few metres up over a small overhang to a second belay below the extremely broken crux ridge between Velika Martuljška Ponca and the Great Altar. After the broken gully it is necessary to climb about 10 m to the third belay in the notch of Snake's Tongue. The hard part is behind us, because the most beautiful part of the hike is next. About 200 m of poetry in stone (I-II. ), as I like to call it, namely the NW ridge Veliki Oltar, is one great pleasure. Such a compact rock is only found in Mali Oltar. After a good 200 m of climbing over slabs and cleavage we approach the last wall. You can climb over the wall straight to the top, or take an easier detour on the left to chimney, which leads you to the broken summit slope of Veliki Oltar. It is only a short walk to the top. Descend along the same path, or descend to Jezerec. It is probably not superfluous to point out that the ascent of Veliki Oltar is a level II climbing ascent, which requires knowledge of the safe use of complete mountaineering equipment and mountaineering skills. The route is well equipped. Safe ascent and enjoy the NW ridge of Veliki Oltar!

On the way: Koča v Krnici mountain hut (1113m), Bivak v Veliki Dnini (2180m), Velika Martuljška Ponca (2602m), Mala Martuljška Ponca (2501m)

We can extend the trip to the following destinations: Visoki Rokav, Škrlatica

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