Gibasów Wierch

Gibasów Wierch (also Wielki Gibasów Groń) is an 890 m summit in the Łamana Skała range of the Little Beskids (more precisely in its part called the Łysina range) in southern Poland. The boundary between the villages of Kocoń and Ślemień (Ślemień municipality, Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship) runs along its south-eastern slope at the edge of the glade. Kocoń is about 3.1 km away, Ślemień 4 km and Krzeszów 7.2 km.

The summit is a junction of three ridges: west via Gibasowe Siodło to Gibasówka (841 m), north-east to Madohora (873 m), and south via the Czarny Dział pass along Góra Pietraszowa (814 m). The watershed between the Soła and Skawa basins runs along Góra Pietraszowa and over the summit. The slopes descend to three valleys: the south-western ones to the Młyńszczanka valley, the northern ones to the Kocierzanka valley (both in the Soła basin), and the south-eastern ones to the Krzywy Potok valley (Skawa basin).

Getting there / trails

A green trail crosses the summit: Kocierz Rychwałdzki – Łysina – Płonna pass – Kucówki – Czarne Działy – Gibasówka – Gibasów Wierch – pass below Madohora – Madohora – Anula junction – Smrekowica – Suwory – Krzeszów. In OpenStreetMap this is the PTTK route "Gaiki – Sucha Beskidzka", passing about 95 m from the summit. Polish Wikipedia gives no walking times. On the western slope, on the Gibasy glade, stands the Chatka Gibasówka hut, and about 1.9 km from the summit, per OpenStreetMap, the Chatka pod Potrójną.

What you can see from the top

The summit was once wooded; the trees were later cut, which made it a viewpoint, but it is now overgrowing again. The best views are from the Gibasy glade and from neighbouring Potrójna, which shows the ridge from Łamana Skała to Wielki Gibasów Groń well.

Nature and name

Local people called both summits on either side of the Gibasy glade and hamlet the Gibasowe Gronie. To help hikers tell them apart, the mountain tourism committee of the PTTK branch in Wadowice gave them new names in 1981: the western one became Mały Gibasów Groń and the eastern one Wielki Gibasów Groń. The latter name also appears on the Compass map, but on the state Geoportal map, based on the national register of geographical names, the summit is called Gibasów Wierch. According to OpenStreetMap, there is a spring called Zimna Woda about 2.2 km from the summit.

Safety, season and rules

The green trail is an easy forest path that can be walked all year round; in winter the Little Beskids ridge holds snow, and in fog it is easy to take the wrong branch at junctions. The summit is not in a national park; make no fires outside designated places and leave no litter. Mountain rescue: GOPR, 985 or +48 601 100 300; the general emergency number is 112.

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