Jasień

Jasień is a summit about 1,063 m high in the Island Beskids (Beskid Wyspowy) in southern Poland, in Limanowa County of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is the third-highest mountain of the range after Mogielica and Ćwilin. The southern slopes of the massif belong to the village of Lubomierz, the northern ones to Półrzeczki; the nearest hamlet, Gronie, lies about 0.7 km from the top.

The mountain has two summits: the main one (about 1,063 m) and a lower northern top called Kutrzyca (1,051 m). Between them lies the Skalne viewing glade with one of the few shepherds' huts left in the Island Beskids. Some sources give Jasień a height of 1,052 m — according to Polish Wikipedia this refers to the lower and less distinct western hump.

Getting there / trails

Several marked trails of the Polish tourist society PTTK pass over or right next to the summit:

• yellow — from Mogielica via Krzystonów and Jasień to the Przysłop pass (750 m) between the Island Beskids and the Gorce; Polish Wikipedia gives 3 h 20 min for the whole section (4 h 20 min uphill in the opposite direction). According to OpenStreetMap, the yellow routes "Mały Krzystonów – Kowaniec" and "Tymbark – Lubomierz Rzeki" follow the same ridge;
• green — from Mszana Dolna via Ogorzała (806 m) and Kiczora to Jasień: about 5 h 30 min up and 4 h 45 min down;
• green — from Jasień to Lubogoszcz (per OpenStreetMap);
• red — the Main Trail of the Island Beskids (Główny Szlak Beskidu Wyspowego) crosses the massif.

About 130 m from the summit OpenStreetMap marks a spring called Zimna woda, but its water quality is not guaranteed — carry your own water.

What you can see from the top

The summit itself has only a small glade that is gradually overgrowing, so trees limit the view. The two glades on the ridge, however, are among the best viewpoints in this part of the Beskids. From the Skalne glade you can see Mogielica with its huge Stumorgowa glade and, to its right, Cichoń, Ostra, Modyń, Hala, Wysoki Wierch and Kiczora Kamienicka with its relay mast, as well as the Gorce and the Pieniny. From the Łąki glade on the slope towards Kiczora (on the green trail) the view takes in the Maków Beskids and the Island Beskids summits: Lubogoszcz, Lubomir and Łysina, Kamiennik Południowy, Wierzbanowska Góra and the nearby massive Ćwilin.

Nature and history

The main ridge of Jasień runs from Krzystonów (1,012 m) to Kiczora, also called Kobylica (901 m). From the main summit a ridge leads south via Miznówka, the Przysłopek pass and Myszyca to the Przysłop pass, where the Island Beskids join the Gorce. The mountain lies on the watershed between the Dunajec and Raba basins: the Łososina and its tributary Upleziowy Potok flow from the northern slopes, Skalny Potok runs east to the Kamienica, and Potok Dudów, a tributary of the Mszanka, drains the south-western slopes.

The north-eastern slopes are steep and cut by deep stream gullies — some of the wildest and least accessible corners of the Island Beskids. Rock outcrops on the ridge release small avalanches in winter. Continuous forest starts above 700–800 m: fir and spruce forest grows lower down, beech in the upper part.

The glades of Jasień are a legacy of the late 19th to mid-20th century, when overpopulated Carpathian villages ploughed or grazed every usable patch of land. Farming later became unprofitable and some of the glades are reverting to forest. Still preserved are, among others, the Skalne, Łąki, Folwarczna, Stasiówka, Hanulówka, Pustki and Okolczyska glades. In spring crocuses bloom on the glades of Jasień — one of the few such places in the Island Beskids — and snowdrops flower here in even greater numbers.

Safety, season and rules

The trails to Jasień are forest mountain paths without rocky or technical sections and can be walked all year round. Waymarks can be hard to follow among the many forest tracks, though, and in winter the glades hold deep snow, with a risk of small avalanches from the rock outcrops on the ridge. Check the forecast, do not stay on open glades during a thunderstorm and do not rely on springs. The summit is not in a national park, but the general rules of Polish forests apply: no fires outside designated places and no litter. Mountain rescue in this region is provided by GOPR: call 985 or +48 601 100 300; the general emergency number is 112.

Interesting facts

• Jasień is the third-highest mountain of the Island Beskids after Mogielica and Ćwilin.
• The Skalne glade has one of the few surviving shepherds' huts in the Island Beskids.
• In spring the glades of Jasień have crocuses, which are rare in the Island Beskids.

Photos: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.