Kokrska Kočna - Jezerska Kočna - Grintovec (08-08-2017)

This is one of the most beautiful, enjoyable routes you can do in the Slovenian mountains, although it's also quite technical and it's only suitable for experienced mountaineers, since some parts of the route are very exposed and it's not fully equipped with fixed protections, like other Slovenian peaks.

I left the car in the small parking area by the dirt road before the cottages. From there you just need to follow the marks and signs in direction to the mountain hut "Cojzova koča na Kokrskem sedlu". After 1,5 km the path splits in two, although both ways meet again after having overcome a quite steep slope, so can take any of them. I took the left one for the ascent and the other one in the descent.

After half kilometer from the point where the two paths meet again you have to take another path to the left in direction to Kokrska Kočna. It seems that this path isn't so used, so it's easy to miss it. Besides, this path is marked as very difficult in the hiking map of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, and the reason might be that it hasn't been properly maintained in long time (what is not common in Slovenia): the vegetation had covered some parts of the trail in exposed areas, the fixed protections were broken or loose, and the marks and the trail were hard to find in some points.

After several kilometers, you reach a kind of flat area where the path meets another one that comes from the Mountain Hut "Cojzova koča na Kokrskem sedlu". In this place the path splits again in two: the path to the right goes directly to the saddle between the peaks Jezerska Kočna and Grintovec, while the path to the left goes up to Kokrska Kočna and the Bivak v Kočni. I took the second one.

From there just follow the marks on the rocks. First you have to go up through a gully with an easy rock climb at the end of it. Then you have to walk up the scree slope until you reach the rock walls with marks on the left side. From there, it is around 250 meters of an easy rock climb up to the summit of the Kokrska Kočna. From this summit there is a quite exposed traverse to the Jezerska Kočna summit, although this part is well equipped with fixed protections.

The Jezerska Kočna and Grintovec peaks are connected by an impressive ridge. The path in this part is fairly easy, with the only exception of a complicated, exposed pass where you have to crawl without backpack right next to a severe fall (see the photo in the waypoint on the map). Once you have passed that point, you just need to end the ridge to get to Gintovec's slopes and continue up following the marks that will lead you to the summit.

I went down on the Grintovec's normal route along the south face, passing by the Mountain Hut "Cojzova koča na Kokrskem sedlu" and turning west from there to meet the first path I went on the ascent.

Notice that, due to the very steep slopes of these mountains, the GPS track is not 100% accurate. In some points the track jumps up and down and don't follow the actual path.