Pachoľa

Pachoľa (Polish Pachoł or Pachola) is a striking pyramid-shaped 2,166.6 m summit on the main ridge of the Western Tatras, in their Roháče part. It rises above the head of the Parichvost valley and the village of Jalovec, about 16 km north-east of Liptovský Mikuláš, on the border between Orava and Liptov – in Liptovský Mikuláš and Tvrdošín districts of the Žilina Region, in the cadastres of Jalovec and Zuberec. The nearest settlements are Žiar and Jalovec to the south-west, Zuberec to the north-west and Oravice to the north-east. The massif belongs to the Tatra National Park (TANAP).

Pachoľa is a massive junction: here the main ridge bends, changing direction from south-east to north-east. To the north the Spálené saddle separates it from Spálená (2,083 m), to the south-east the Baníkovské saddle from Baníkov (2,178 m). The slopes fall into the wild, boulder-filled Spálená dolina to the north-east, into the glacial cirque Vrece at the head of Hlboká dolina to the north-west and into the Parichvost valley to the south and west. No avalanche gully falls from the rocky eastern side, whereas several gullies run down into the grassy Hlboká dolina and Parichvost.

How to get there / routes

The red ridge trail along the main crest of the Western Tatras crosses the summit.

• From the Baníkovské saddle – 20 min (down 15 min); from Spálená – 40 min.
• From the west – red trail from Sivý vrch via Brestová (1,903 m) and Salatín (2,048 m); from Pachoľa to the Middle Salatín saddle 1 h 55 min.
• From the east – red trail from Volovec via the Smutné and Baníkovské saddles.
• From the north, from the Zverovka junction, through Roháčska and Spálená dolina (green trail to the Baníkovské saddle) – the easiest ascent from a valley: about 3 h 40 min and 1,150 m of ascent.
• From Jalovec – yellow trail to the Pod Lyscom junction, then blue through the Parichvost valley to the Baníkovské saddle: about 5 h 05 min and 1,500 m of ascent.
• From Žiarska chata – green trail over Baníkov and the Baníkovské saddle.

What you can see from the summit

The stony top gives an all-round panorama. The north faces of Baníkov, the Roháče crest and Skriniarky look especially impressive from here. You can see Spálená, Baranec (2,185 m), Osobitá, Plačlivé, Ostrý Roháč, Volovec, Salatín and Brestová, and further away the High Tatra summits and the Liptov Basin. In good weather the Skorušina hills, the Orava Beskids, the Orava Magura, the Malá and Veľká Fatra, the Choč hills, the Low Tatras and the mountains of southern Poland are visible too.

Nature and history

Pachoľa has grassy and stony slopes, rocky in places lower down. Its water drains into two river basins: the southern slopes via the Jalovčianka to the Váh, the eastern ones through Spálená and Roháčska dolina and the Studený potok to the Orava. The head of the Parichvost valley below the slopes is called Závraty.

The origin of the name is unknown. The Slovak word means “little boy” or “small child”, but what it refers to is unclear. Two Polish variants have long been used – Pachola (used, for example, by Józef Nyka) and Pachoł (in the Great Tatra Encyclopaedia by the Paryskis); the mountain was formerly also called Patria. Older surveys gave 2,153, 2,166 or 2,167 m. It is the second-highest summit of the Roháče.

Safety, season and rules

The ridge trail runs above the tree line, so in TANAP it falls under the seasonal closure from 1 November to 31 May (except for a few sections announced by the park administration). Summer thunderstorms are frequent and the crest is exposed to wind; in winter and spring avalanches come down the slopes towards Hlboká dolina and Parichvost. Stay on marked trails in the national park. Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Interesting facts

• Pachoľa is a junction peak: a short ridge runs west from it to Plačlivé, which then splits into two spurs with the Hlboký žľab gully between them.
• Orava and Liptov, two historical regions of Slovakia, meet on Pachoľa.

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