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Mount Hoverla (Ukrainian: Говерла, Hoverla;
Russian: Говерла, Goverla; Rusyn: Говерла, Hoverla;
Hungarian: Hóvár; Romanian: Hovârla; Goverla, Polish:
Howerla), at 2,061 metres (6,762 ft), is the highest
mountain in Ukraine and part of the Carpathian Mountains.
The mountain is located in the Eastern Beskids, in the
Chornohora region. The slopes are covered with beech 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 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. 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 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 3,600 vertical feet (1,100 meters) along a steep
path with few switchbacks. There is a steeper route
(marked with blue signs) and a more gentle one but a
lengthier 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.[2] |
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