Salatín

Salatín (formerly Salatínsky vrch; Polish Salatyński Wierch or Salatyn) is a 2048 m summit on the main ridge of the Western Tatras, in the Roháče part of the range, in Slovakia. It rises above the Bobrovecká dolina valley and the village of Jalovec, about 18 km north of Liptovský Mikuláš. The mountain lies on the boundary of Liptovský Mikuláš and Tvrdošín districts, and the ridge here forms the natural border between Orava and Liptov. The nearest villages are Zuberec to the north-west (about 7 km), Huty (8 km), Habovka and Jalovec (9 km each).

Salatín is the central summit of a large massif of the same name and one of six tops of the so-called Salatín group. On the main ridge it lies between Malý Salatín (2046 m), separated by a small middle Salatín saddle, and Brestová (1903 m). The north-eastern slopes fall into the Salatínska dolina, which drains to the Studený potok in the Orava basin; to the south-west lies the Podválovec valley in the Váh basin. Polish authors call Salatín the most massive peak of the Orava Tatras and the last, westernmost two-thousand-metre peak of the Tatras.

How to get there / routes

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

• From the west – from Sivý vrch via Brestová. Salatín to Brestová takes about 30 min, back 40 min.
• From the east – from Volovec via Smutné sedlo, Baníkov and Skriniarky. From the Baníkovské sedlo saddle to the summit about 2 h.
• From Zverovka – blue trail via Spálený žľab to Brestová, then red. The ascent takes about 3 h 40 min, the descent 2 h 15 min.
• From Jalovec – yellow trail to the junction below Lysec, then blue up the Parichvost valley and green through Hlboká dolina to the ridge.

What you can see from the top

The rocky top gives an all-round panorama. Close by you see Sivý vrch, Osobitá and the Roháčska dolina; to the east and south many Western Tatra peaks (Baníkov, Pachoľa, Plačlivé, Spálená) and, in part, the distant High Tatras. In good visibility the horizon shows the Skorušinské vrchy, the Orava Beskids, Oravská Magura, the Malá and Veľká Fatra, the Choč Mountains, the Low Tatras and the mountains of southern Poland.

Nature and history

The summit and its slopes are mostly grassy. In the past cattle from the Bobrovecká dolina grazed right up to the top: the Salatín pasture appears in Orava documents from 1615, and an 1823 map marks the peak as "Salatjn B.". The summit is cut by ridge-top trenches, and on the broad western spur, which Zuberec locals call Červený vrch, lie two small tarns that cannot be seen from the path. Geologists link the mountain to a western uplift of the crystalline core of the Tatras. The origin of the name is unclear: it is derived from the Slovak salaš (a mountain sheep farm), from a Slavic word meaning "frozen", or from a folk plant name.

Safety, season and rules

Salatín lies in the Tatra National Park (TANAP). The park's high-mountain trails are closed every year from 1 November to 31 May – do not go up to the ridge then. In summer the crest is exposed to wind and thunderstorms; grassy and stony slopes are slippery after rain. Stay on marked trails and plan the day to avoid afternoon storms. In the Slovak mountains help comes from the Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Interesting facts

• The first winter ascent was made by Józef Lesiecki and Leon Loria in 1911.
• "Salatín" occurs several times as a mountain name in Slovakia.
• Salatín is the westernmost Tatra summit higher than 2000 m.

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 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.