Jakubina

Jakubina (Polish Raczkowa Czuba) is a 2,194 m summit in the Western Tatras, the second-highest of the range after Bystrá (2,248 m). It stands in the Slovak part of the Tatras, in the Žilina Region, above the village of Pribylina, about 17 km north of Liptovský Hrádok. It is the highest peak of the Otrhance ridge, which runs south from Hrubý vrch (2,137 m) on the main Tatra ridge. The mountain is pyramid-shaped and has a grassy alpine character: its grass-and-stone slopes have no dwarf pine and rise 500–700 m above the surrounding valleys. The whole summit lies in the Tatra National Park (TANAP).

The Otrhance ridge separates two valleys: the Račková valley with the Račkove tarns, source of the Račková stream, to the east, and the Jamnícka valley to the west. Both drain to the Belá river in the Váh basin. To the north is Hrubý vrch (Polish Jarząbczy Wierch), to the south, beyond the Jakubinské sedlo saddle (2,069 m), Vyšná Magura (2,095 m). The summit is built of metamorphosed granodiorites, like the whole Roháče and Otrhance massif.

Getting there / trail

The green-marked trail along the Otrhance ridge passes over the summit itself. The usual route:

• from the former «Račková» camp in the Račková valley near Pribylina — first on blue markings up the narrow Úzka dolina past a small reservoir to Nižná lúka, then on green in zigzags through forest and dwarf pine to the ridge and over several lower humps to the summit;
• according to the Polish Tatra encyclopaedia the ascent takes about 4 h 30 min and the descent 3 h 30 min, with a total climb of about 1,400 m;
• from Jakubina the green trail reaches Hrubý vrch and the red-marked main ridge in 10–15 min; from there you can descend through the Jamnícka or Račková valley and close a loop.

Technically the route is easy, but tiring because of the many climbs; there are exposed spots, and in fog it is easy to take the wrong direction, which is dangerous on the ridge.

The view

The panorama from Jakubina is one of the finest in the Tatras: to the west Baranec (2,185 m) and the Roháče with Plačlivé and Ostrý Roháč, to the east Bystrá and Klin, the High Tatras dominated by Kriváň, and below the Račková and Jamnícka valleys and the Sub-Tatra basin. In good visibility you can see the Low Tatras, the Greater and Lesser Fatra, Oravská Magura, the Orava Beskids and the mountains of southern Poland. On the summit there is a small hollow lined with stones — a modest shelter from the wind.

Nature and history

In winter powerful avalanches, among the largest in the Tatras, slide off Jakubina's open slopes; the main avalanche gully falls east into the Záhradky area of the Jamnícka valley. Chamois often graze around. Shepherds, hunters, cartographers and hikers have climbed the summit for a long time, and the first winter ascent was made in 1910 by skiers from Zakopane.

Season and rules

TANAP's high-mountain trails, including the Otrhance ridge, are closed every year from 1 November to 31 May; in summer you may walk only on marked trails and only in daylight. There are no huts and no water on the ridge — carry enough to drink and windproof clothing, and watch out for thunderstorms, which in the Tatras often build up in the afternoon. Slovak Mountain Rescue Service (HZS): 18 300 (from a foreign phone +421 18 300) or 112.

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