Black Mountain

Group gathering at the Ivano-Frankivsk railway station around 10 am. The instructor distributes food and rental equipment (order in advance). We get into the minibus and drive into the mountains for the next three hours. The roads in the Carpathians are not conducive to fast driving :)

The walking part of the route begins in the village of Dzembronia (altitude 850 m). We put on our backpacks and begin the ascent through the forest and a series of meadows (alpine meadows). We have lunch by the mountain river and then see the Dzembronskie waterfalls (aka Smotritskie), located at an altitude of about 1500 meters.

We continue our ascent, walk along the rocky ridge and climb Mount Ushastyi Kamin (1864 m) decorated with bizarre rocks - stone pillars. We take pictures and move to the spur of the neighboring mountain - Smotrich (1898 m). We descend a little from the ridge and set up camp (put up tents) in a clearing near the ruins of an old Polish shelter (altitude 1700 m).

Auto - 130 km, 3 hours. Walking - 8 km, 6 hours. Elevation gain - 962 m.

After breakfast, we fold up the tents and return to the Smotrich ridge. From here literally 150 meters up and one and a half kilometers horizontally and we will find ourselves on the Chornohora ridge (Chernogor). We turn south and after another one and a half kilometers we find ourselves at the top of the Black Mountain (Pip Ivan Chornohirskyi, height 2028 m). This is the culmination of both the ascent and the entire hike. In clear weather, not only Hoverla, but also the Romanian Carpathians are clearly visible from the top. We arrange a big stop and a photo shoot, and explore the former Polish observatory. Nowadays it is known as the “White Elephant” and is gradually being converted into a tourist shelter.

We will descend along a different path - not as we climbed, but along the south-eastern ridge. At an altitude of about 1700 meters, the trail dives into the forest and gradually turns into a road. It will be much easier to go further. On the way we see the mountain lake Maricheika (altitude 1500 m) and have lunch. We have to drop another 700 meters of altitude and walk about 8 km. As a result, we find ourselves in the village of Shybene (altitude 850 m), where a minibus will be waiting for us. We will get to Ivano-Frankivsk, to the station, around 21:00. End of the program.

Auto - 145 km, 3.5 hours. Walking - 13 km, 9 hours.