Kopec

Kopec (Slovak for “mound”; formerly Polish Kopiec) is a 1,251 m summit, the second highest in the Skorušinské vrchy of northern Slovakia. It rises above the village of Huty, about 9 km south of Tvrdošín, on the border of the Tvrdošín and Dolný Kubín districts of the Žilina Region. The old boundary between the historic regions of Orava and Liptov also runs over the summit. The nearest villages are Malé Borové at the south-western foot, Huty to the south-east, Zuberec to the east, Oravský Biely Potok to the north and Chlebnice to the west. The name refers to the dome-like shape of the summit. The Nižné Hutianske sedlo saddle separates the massif from the Western Tatras.

How to get there / routes

Two marked trails cross on the summit.

• Red along the main ridge: from the north from Oravský Biely Potok via Mních, Machy and the Prieková saddle; from the south-west from Malé Borové. The easiest ascent is from Malé Borové, only about 2 km from the summit.
• Blue: from the north from Podbiel via Blatnický vrch and Bane; from the east from Zuberec via the Prieková saddle.

In winter the “Silver Horseshoe” (Strieborná podkova) ski-touring route runs over the massif’s slopes.

What you can see from the summit

The top of Kopec is covered by continuous forest, so there is no view from it. On the slopes there are patches of sparse vegetation with limited views of the Skorušinské vrchy, the Choč Mountains, the Western and Low Tatras, the Orava Beskids, the Orava Magura and the Lesser and Greater Fatra. The mountain itself is best seen from the Vyšné Hutianske sedlo pass on the road between Zuberec and Huty.

Nature and history

Kopec is a junction of many ridges. One runs north to the Mrzký brook valley, another north-west to Bane (943 m), one south-west to Blato (1,138 m), one south-east to the Grúnik hill, and one north-east via the Prieková saddle to Machy (1,202 m). Between Kopec and Prieková there is an unnamed top from which three more spurs branch: via Prípor (1,003 m) to the Huty valley, to the Nižné Hutianske sedlo, and the Cyrhlica crest descending to Zuberec.

The north-eastern slopes drain via tributaries of the Studený potok and the western ones via the Krivský brook (Orava basin), while water from the southern slopes flows via the Kvačianka to the Váh. Today the mountain is forested, but it once had fields, pastures and meadows; they have grown over, yet they are still visible on old maps and satellite images — a trace of the former farming of the mountain villages.

Safety, season and rules

The routes to Kopec are easy and suitable in all seasons, but the wooded ridge is hard to navigate in fog, and in winter there is plenty of snow. Stay on marked trails and carry water. Slovak Mountain Rescue (HZS): 18 300 (+421 18 300); emergency number 112.

Interesting facts

• Polish guidebooks used to translate the name as Kopiec (“Mound”), but current geographic-naming rules require the Slovak form Kopec.
• The summit’s prominence is about 350 m.

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