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  • Skymaraton Chopok

    Skymaraton Chopok

    I haven’t raced in a long time, mainly because we have a lot of our own projects and few free weekends:)

    But when I received the entry fee for the Chopok Skymarathon, I didn’t refuse and so on September 6, 2025 I stood at the start under Chopok in front of the Srdiečko hotel.

    The starting gun was accompanied by thunder in the background and even though the storms were predicted for the afternoon, they arrived right in the morning. Within 30 minutes I was soaked to the bone and the conditions were even more difficult, slippery roots, wet stones, mud.. But at least it wasn’t hot.

    During the storm

    After the initial climb to Kosodrevina, there was a traverse almost to the M.R. Štefánik hut and quite a few sections were runnable, from the hut there was a fairly long steep section down to the cave of dead bats, where it was quite slippery. I went relatively slowly and managed it without falling. There was a nice, quite runnable path back to Kosodrevina and so I ran as much as I could.

    There is sun after the storm

    I ran the refreshment stop only with a refill of ionts and a long, really long climb to the Krížské sedlo awaited me. Here I started to feel that my strength was waning and there was a reason, almost 20km and I had eaten almost nothing.. mistake..

    After first half

    I mostly walked to the refreshment stop on Chopok, where I stuffed myself with a banana and a chocolate bar, replenished my fluids, and jumped over the Tatra granite to the Demänovský saddle, where the trail started to rise again. I already felt that today would be very difficult, because I had less strength than I would have liked, especially uphill.

    Half foggy, half sunny

    The descent from Krúpov saddle was steep, rocky, muddy and strenuous, it took a lot of my strength, but the forest from Záver širokej doliny was beautifully foggy, mystical, covered in moss, I enjoyed it..

    Mystical forest

    The last refreshment stop on Biela Púť and now it’s just a climb, I tried to replenish my energy, but I knew that it would be more walking than running.. It was quite easy up to Orlia Skala, I walked quite briskly. But up the slope? That completely turned me off and I could barely move from one foot to the other, my head was starting to hurt, my stomach was protesting… It wasn’t the performance of the year, but I didn’t give up, and I walked all the way to the finish line, I was the 6th woman at the finish line with a time of 7h 33min.

    Slowly and gloomily up the slope, in places the sign was almost invisible
    43,4 km, 7h 33min, 2680m ascend
  • Považský and Lietava castle

    Považský and Lietava castle

    We love castles, and we especially like ruins that we can explore on our own, without a guide. And during our weekend in the Súľovské vrchy, we managed to see two such castles.

    Považský hrad is the ruin of a castle on a steep hill on the right bank of the Váh River. According to unverified reports, the castle was built in 1128 to protect the important Považský road. However, the first mention of it dates back to 1316, where it is mentioned as Bystrický hrad.

    Entrance to Považskéhý castle

    The oldest part of the castle was the tower, standing on the highest point of the rampart, and the Gothic palace. The large oval-shaped forecourt was surrounded by a castle wall, which was protected from the NE by two prismatic towers. The access road, leading to the castle from the NE, is still visible in the terrain today. The entrance gate was protected by a prismatic tower with a barbican.

    Preserved walls of the castle

    The walls of the palace, towers and fortifications have been partially preserved. Window openings are visible on the palace, in places with preserved Renaissance cornices. Of the former farm buildings built in the courtyard, only parts of the walls, or their foundations, are visible. In some rooms there are remains of Renaissance vaults.

    2.5km, 1h

    Lietava Castle is located 10 km from the regional capital Žilina near the Cibuľník hill on the eastern edge of the Súľovské vrchy mountains.

    Walls of Lietava

    In terms of its level of preservation, it is among the largest (1 hectare of built-up area) and most beautifully preserved ruins not only in Slovakia, but also in Central Europe.

    Lietava is pretty big

    The demise of the Gothic-Renaissance castle dates back to 1753 and the ruins were abandoned in the forest until 1999. That is when the Lietava Castle Preservation Association was established, which has been saving the buildings since 2003, through sensitive stabilization, conservation and partial restoration. The castle is still a freely accessible ruin.

    The castle proudly towers over the landscape and offers a wonderful view of the surroundings. The castle walls of the individual buildings still stand to a considerable height. They have preserved window openings, possibly entrances and architectural details, stone profiled consoles of the former bay window, arched attics, cannon and key loopholes, and in places parts of profiled linings. In the premises of the former chapel, the ramparts of stone Gothic ribs and the remains of plaster on some walls have been preserved.

    Entrance gate

    However, we couldn’t enjoy the views because it rained the whole way up and the castle was surrounded by thick fog.

    Lietava in its most famous times
    5.16km, 1h 30 min active time, 2h total