Veľký Polom

Veľký Polom (Czech Velký Polom, Polish Wielki Połom) is a 1,067 m mountain on the Slovak–Czech border and the highest summit of the Slovak part of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids. It lies about 10 km north-west of the town of Čadca; its south-eastern slopes belong to the Slovak village of Raková, the north-western ones to Czech Horní Lomná. Veľký Polom is the highest point of the Velký Polom massif, the easternmost part of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids, although within the whole range it is only the 17th highest. To the west the ridge follows the border to Muřinkový vrch (975 m); to the east it branches into Czechia via Tetřev to Mosty u Jablunkova.

How to get there / routes

The mountain and its ridge are very popular with hikers and cyclists.

• Red (Czech) ridge trail: from Mosty u Jablunkova past the Skalka and Severka huts and Kamenná chata to Velký and on to Malý Polom. From Mosty to the Skalka hut is about 4.5 km, then roughly a kilometre each to Severka and Kamenná chata; Kamenná chata lies about 2 km from the summit.
• Blue (Slovak): from the Korcháňovci part of Raková via the Medvedia skala junction (842 m).
• Yellow (Czech): from Horní Lomná — a fairly steep climb; over the summit to Kamenná chata it is about 7 km.

The long-distance Via Czechia and Via Slovakia routes also run along the ridge.

What you can see from the summit

The summit is mostly forested, so views are limited, but small clearings open distant horizons. In good conditions you can see the Silesian and Kysuce Beskids, the Lesser Fatra and the Javorníky, and occasionally the Pilsko and Babia Góra massifs, the High Tatras, Veľký Choč and Strážov.

Nature and history

The main European watershed runs over the summit: the Czech slopes drain via tributaries of the Lomná into the Olza and then the Oder (Baltic Sea basin), the Slovak ones via the Trstená and Milošovský brooks to the Kysuca and the Danube (Black Sea basin). Frost-riven cliffs are common in the summit area. The Úplaz spur (949 m) runs north from the massif.

On the Czech side the Velký Polom nature reserve was established in 1999, covering almost 48 ha and protecting remnants of primeval beech-fir forest; on the Slovak side a reserve of the same name adjoins it. The mountain lies in two protected landscape areas — Kysuce and Beskydy.

Safety, season and rules

The routes to Veľký Polom are easy, but in fog it is easy to go astray on the wooded crest, and in winter snow is plentiful. Do not leave the marked trails in the reserves. On the Slovak side call Mountain Rescue (HZS): 18 300 (+421 18 300); on the Czech side the Horská služba: 1210 (+420 1210); general emergency number 112.

Interesting facts

• Neighbouring Skalka is the easternmost summit of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids; together with Girová it frames the Jablunkov Pass, which separates these mountains from the Silesian Beskids.
• The summit’s isolation is about 11.6 km — the distance to the nearest higher mountain.

Photos: Petr Štefek, CC BY-SA 3.0 cz; Y1984 (Czech Wikipedia), Public domain; Y1984 (Czech Wikipedia), Public domain; Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.