Úšust (Oszus)

Úšust (Polish Oszus or Oszust) is a 1155 m summit in the Orava Beskids on the Slovak–Polish border. It rises above the village of Oravská Lesná (about 4.4 km), some 20 km west of Námestovo, in the Žilina Region. The summit itself lies in Slovakia, about 200 m south of the border, within the municipality of Zákamenné; the Polish slopes belong to the village of Soblówka (Ujsoły commune, Silesian Voivodeship). The nearest settlements are Oravská Lesná to the south, Zákamenné and Novoť to the east and Soblówka to the north-west. The mountain lies in the Horná Orava Protected Landscape Area.

Úšust belongs to the main ridge of the Orava Beskids – in Polish tradition part of the Żywiec–Kysuce Beskids – and gives its name to the whole Ošust group. It lies between the Hlinka saddle (845 m) and Bednárová (1093 m). Around it rise Czoło (1040 m) and Javorina to the north, Veľký kopec and Strakov vrch to the east, Juríková (918 m) to the south, and Vysoká Magura (1115 m) and Krkoškuľa to the west. The main European watershed follows the ridge: the northern slopes drain via the Urwisko stream to the Soła (Baltic basin), the southern and eastern ones to the Biela Orava (Black Sea basin).

How to get there / routes

No marked trail leads to the summit itself, but the blue ridge trail runs along the main ridge just north of it – the top is only a few minutes away.

• From the west – blue trail from the Príslop saddle via Talapkov Beskyd and Krkoškuľa.
• From the north – blue trail from the Hlinka saddle via the Kaňovky junction.
• From the south-east – green trail from Zákamenné (the "Zákamenné boundary path") to the Kaňovky junction.
• From the south – yellow trail from Oravská Lesná via the Kohútik and Podúšust junctions.

The sources give no walking times – plan the hike with an Orava Beskids hiking map.

What you can see from the top

The summit is covered by broken forest marked by logging and windthrow, so the view is limited. Thanks to the clearings a panorama opens to the west and north-west. From open spots you can see the neighbouring peaks of the Orava, Kysuce, Silesian and Żywiec Beskids, Oravská Magura, the Kysuce Highlands and the Lesser Fatra, and quite often the Tatras.

Nature and history

On the Polish slopes below the summit the Oszast nature reserve protects a fragment of the original Carpathian primeval forest: lower-montane beech-fir forest with spruce and sycamore. A triangulation point marks the summit.

The mountain's name is a real tangle. The Polish researcher Aleksy Siemionow considered "Wysoki Beskid" (High Beskid) the correct name – it was first recorded by Andrzej Komoniecki (1658–1728) and describes well how the mountain towers over neighbouring Równy Beskid and Kaniówki. An 1880s map introduced the mistaken form "Osusz", copied by the Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland; the Polish Military Geographical Institute changed it to "Oszus", and the official gazetteer now gives "Oszust". The Slovak form is Úšust.

Safety, season and rules

This is a wooded mid-mountain summit accessible all year, but off the waymarks it is easy to get lost, and windthrow can block paths. The ridge follows the state border – crossing is allowed within the Schengen area, but stay on marked trails. On the Polish side do not leave the paths in the Oszast reserve. In Slovakia help comes from the Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300); in Poland from GOPR: 985 or +48 601 100 300; general emergency number 112.

Interesting facts

• One summit, at least five names: Úšust, Oszus, Oszust, Osusz and Wysoki Beskid.
• Rain falling on the summit may end up in either the Baltic or the Black Sea.

Photos: ZIGI2014, CC BY-SA 4.0; Zygmunt Gałązka (ZIGI2014), CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.