Prosečné

Prosečné (local forms Prosečnô, Prosečná; Polish Prosieczne) is a prominent 1372 m peak in the Choč Mountains of northern Slovakia. It is the highest mountain of their easternmost subunit of the same name and the highest in the whole Choč Mountains outside the Veľký Choč group. The massif rises above the famous Prosiecka valley, about 11 km north-west of Liptovský Mikuláš, and extends into the land of Veľké Borové, Kvačany and Prosiek in Liptovský Mikuláš District of the Žilina Region. Its prominence is about 471 m, so it rises above the Liptov Basin like a mighty wall.

The massif is bounded by the Zuberec furrow to the north, the Kvačianska valley to the east, the Liptov Basin to the south and the Prosiecka valley to the west. The summit itself is a slightly elongated ridge running from south-west to north-east with two faint tops; the north-eastern one is higher. East of the Ostruky saddle (about 1085 m) the hills of Čierna hora (about 1094–1098 m) and Hrádková (1206 m) join the massif; Diel (1051 m) lies to the north, Lomné (1278 m) and Čerenová (1221 m) to the west.

How to get there / routes

A green-marked trail (KST 5620) crosses the summit. It runs from the Borovianka canyon above the Kvačianska valley via the Ostruky saddle to Prosečné, then to the Svorad karst plateau and on via Lomné and the Heliáš abyss to the village of Liptovská Anna. According to Polish sources, the section from the junction in the Borovianka valley via Čierna hora and Prosečné to Svorad takes about 3 hours, about 2 h 50 min in the opposite direction.

• From Kvačany – marked paths via the Oblazy and Borovianka junctions, then the green trail.
• From Prosiek – through the Prosiecka valley to the Svorad junction, then the green trail.

Despite easy access, the mountain is not visited very often: most walkers head for the surrounding valleys – Prosiecka, Kvačianska and Borovianka.

What you can see from the summit

The summit is only partly wooded, so the view is limited but interesting and all-round. Besides the neighbouring Choč Mountains you can see the nearby Liptov Basin with the Liptovská Mara reservoir, the Skorušina Mountains, the Orava Magura ridge, the Orava Beskids, part of the Lesser and Greater Fatra, and the Low and Western Tatras including the Roháče.

Nature and history

Prosečné is built of strongly folded thick beds of Middle Triassic limestones and dolomites, which geologists assign to the Choč nappe. The slopes have many cliffs, rock towers and crags, and three dry gullies cut into the south-eastern slopes. The whole massif is a karst area. Small, slowly overgrowing meadows survive on the ridge between the two tops.

The western slopes belong to the Prosiecka dolina National Nature Reserve, the eastern ones to the protected Kvačianska valley. The massif is drained by the Prosiečanka to the west, the Borovianka to the north and the Kvačianka to the east. In the 2010s large windstorms flattened extensive areas of forest, and in 2017 the green trail was even closed during the clearing work.

Safety, season and rules

In the Prosiecka dolina reserve walk only on marked trails, do not pick plants and do not light fires. Because of the windthrow, check the current state of the trail before you go. The slopes are steep and the forest sections are slippery after rain. The nearest springs are 600–900 m from the summit and the nearest shelter about 1.8 km. In Slovakia, mountain help comes from the Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Interesting facts

• Locals call the mountain Prosečno, Prosečná or Prosiecky vrch.
• The deep notch of the dry Príslop valley between Prosečné and Hrádková is clearly visible from the road between Liptovské Matiašovce and Liptovská Sielnica.
• The village closest to the summit is Veľké Borové, just 2.5 km to the north.

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