Winter hiking in the Carpathians: safety, gear and easy routes

Not only skiers head to the Carpathians in winter: many people want to see snowy meadows and forests covered in frost. It is possible, but the rules are different from summer. What matters most is choosing a route that matches your experience, the weather and the daylight. Below is what to know before you set out, and eight routes to start with.

Can you climb Hoverla in winter?

Yes, but only with winter hiking experience and the right gear. Hoverla (2,061 m) is Ukraine’s highest peak, in the Chornohora range. The shortest way up is the blue route from the Zaroslyak base: about 3.7 km one way and roughly 800 m of ascent. In summer it is an easy hike; in winter the upper slope turns into hard crust and ice, the wind is strong, and inside a cloud visibility can drop to a few metres.

Ice is what causes most accidents: in January 2022 a hiker died on the icy slope of Hoverla and two more were injured. So in winter people climb Hoverla with crampons (not microspikes), an ice axe and the skills to use them, on a clear day without storm winds or avalanche warnings. If you don’t have that, pick one of the easy routes below and come back to Hoverla in summer.

As of 2025–2026, the routes to Hoverla from Zaroslyak are open. Further south, along the Romanian border, a ban applies: order No. 1663-АГ of the 31st Border Guard Detachment closes, among others, Mala Hoverla, Turkul, Brebeneskul and Pip Ivan Chornohirskyi to hikers. So in winter, don’t continue along the ridge beyond Hoverla.

Why the high mountains in winter are for experienced hikers only

• Ice and crust. On open slopes above the tree line snow turns to ice, and a fall on such a slope is hard to stop.
• Wind and frost. On the ridges the wind makes it feel much colder; frostbitten fingers and faces happen even in mild frost.
• Visibility. In cloud and blizzard the path and the waymarks get buried, and even experienced hikers lose the route.
• Avalanches. They come down on steep high slopes, most often after heavy snowfall and during thaws.
• Short days. A timing mistake in winter means descending in the dark.

Short daylight

In December, in Ivano-Frankivsk the sun rises around 08:12 and sets around 16:26: just 8 hours 14 minutes of daylight on 21 December. In the mountains — in valleys and forests — it gets dark even earlier. The rule is simple: start at dawn, set a turnaround time (say, 12:30–13:00) and turn back at that time even if the top is very close. A headlamp with spare batteries is a must even on a short route.

Avalanche danger

Avalanche forecasts for the Ukrainian Carpathians are issued by the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center by danger level (for example, “considerable avalanche danger, level 3” in January 2025), and the State Emergency Service passes the warnings on. The steep high slopes of Chornohora, Svydovets and the Marmarosh, roughly above 1,450–1,600 m, are the most dangerous. Warnings usually run from late November or December to March or April. If avalanche danger or storm winds are announced, rescuers advise postponing the hike. The routes below run through forests and low meadows with practically no avalanche risk — but the ice and the frost are the same.

What to pack for the mountains in winter

• Layers: thermal underwear (no cotton), a fleece or down jacket, and a waterproof shell jacket and trousers on top. A spare dry layer in the pack.
• A hat, a buff, two pairs of gloves (thin and warm), sunglasses.
• Footwear: warm, broken-in waterproof hiking boots and snow gaiters.
• Microspikes — rubber harnesses with small spikes for forest and low routes. Crampons — rigid metal points for ice and steep high slopes, used together with an ice axe.
• Trekking poles with wide winter baskets.
• A headlamp and spare batteries, a charged phone and a power bank (batteries drain faster in the cold — keep the phone in an inside pocket).
• A thermos of hot tea and a snack for every hour.
• An offline map and the route track (every route page on our site has a GPS track to download), a first-aid kit and a survival blanket.

More on clothing and boots in our older article “What you need to know for a winter hike”.

101, 112 and telling the rescuers

In the mountains, call 101 (State Emergency Service) or 112. Before setting out, the rescuers advise registering your route: the websites of the regional emergency service departments in Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi and Lviv oblasts have a “Registration of tourist groups” section (in Ukrainian). Another way is the service’s mobile app “Poriatunok u horakh” (Rescue in the mountains), which lets you register a hike and send an SOS with your coordinates. Registration is not compulsory, but if something happens, the rescuers will know where to look. And always tell someone where you are going and when you will be back.

8 easy winter routes below 1,400 m

We also suggest these routes in our Telegram channel in winter: all of them stay below 1,400 m, take up to 3 hours, have moderate ascent and stay outside the border strip. People walk them every week. Even so, in winter you need warm boots, microspikes and a checked forecast.

1. Yaremche — Mount Makovytsia — 5.1 km, +460 m ascent, top 984 m, ≈ 2 h. through the forest straight from town, views of the Prut valley and the Gorgany.
2. Yaremche — Dovbush Rocks — Yaremche — 7.1 km, +202 m ascent, top 750 m, ≈ 2 h. a loop to a rock labyrinth in the forest, the easiest of the eight.
3. Zhenets tract — Zhenetskyi Huk waterfall — 7 km, +218 m ascent, top 869 m, ≈ 2 h. along a forest road to a waterfall that freezes in winter.
4. Maniava — Maniava waterfall — 7 km, +213 m ascent, top 711 m, ≈ 2 h. through the forest past the Maniava Skete to a waterfall on the Maniavka stream.
5. Zhynets tract — Khomiakiv polonyna — 7.7 km, +572 m ascent, top 1,352 m, ≈ 3 h. the highest of the eight: an open meadow facing Chornohora; don’t continue to Mount Khomiak in winter.
6. Yamna — Yavirnyk polonyna — 5 km, +567 m ascent, top 1,205 m, ≈ 2–2.5 h. short but steep, up to a Gorgany meadow above Yaremche.
7. Turia Poliana — Voievodyn waterfall — 7 km, +447 m ascent, top 878 m, ≈ 2.5 h. Zakarpattia: a forest path to a cascade among rocks.
8. Nedilna — Tower of Memory — 9 km, +386 m ascent, top 826 m, ≈ 3 h. Lviv region: a calm walk through the Boiko land to a lookout tower.

Distance and ascent come from the GPS tracks on the route pages; times are approximate, without breaks. All Carpathian routes with difficulty filters are in the Routes section. And if you’d rather have a winter without hiking, here are 14 ideas for the Carpathians without skis.

Frequently asked questions

Before every outing: check the forecast and avalanche warnings, tell someone your route and return time, and register with the rescuers. If the weather turns, turn back — the mountain will still be there. The rescue number is 101 or 112.

Updated: 12 November 2026.

Cover photo: Robert-Erik, CC BY-SA 4.0.