Triglav from Vrata Valley via Tominskov Pot (12-07-2017)

For attempting this route you should wear the proper gear (helmet is mandatory and a via ferrata set may be very useful) and have good mountaineering skills. Some people prefer to split this route in two days, passing the night in Kedarica hut. Take into account that this route is very physically demanding and slower people might need up to 10-12 hours to end it. I strongly recommend starting the hike before the sunrise. I left the car in the parking lot at the end of the road, before the Aljažev Dom hut. In summer time there is a parking fee (around 5€).

The marked path starts at Aljažev dom mountain hut. From there you just need to follow the trail marks and direction signs. From Vrata Valley there are three trails leading to Triglav summit: Tominskov Pot, Pot Čez Prag and Bambergov Pot (pot means trail in Slovene). The two first trails pass by Kedarica mountain hut, while the third one goes through Luknja Pass. In this route I took Tominskov trail for the ascent, which is more technical and exposed, and Čez Prag trail for the descent (see waypoints on the map).

The Tominskov trail starts some hundreds of meters after the Aljažev dom hut, on the other side of the river bed (which is normally dry). There is a sign making the turn, but you can easily miss it, especially when starting before the sunrise.

After passing the very steep slopes with the ferrata sections, the Tominskov trail meets the end of the Čez Prag trail. From that point, the trail up to Kedarica hut is much less steep, although the rock is full of holes, sinkholes and fissures as a result of the karst procceses on the limestone (this section might be quite tricky with snow).

From Kedarica hut the trail is more like a via ferrata, especially the first walls up to Mali Triglav summit. The way is very well secured with cables and metallic poles up to the summit. The only problem in this section (mainly in summer) is to get stuck in a long waiting line due to the large amount of people going up and down.

In this mountain, as in every other mountain in the Julian Alps, is very complicated to find water. However, in this route there is one place where you can take some water that runs directly from the rocks (see waypoint on the map). I’m not sure that this spring has always water, though. I guess you can also buy water in Kedarica hut, as well as food.

Another issue to be careful with are the storms. Thunderstorms are very common and extremely strong in the Julian Alps during the summer, especially from the noon, even when the weather is perfect in the morning. You really don’t want to get catch by one of those storms while being up there, so check the weather forecast in advance.