// Trip Reports  

Report name	Ladies College Slovakia 2007
Date submitted	Aug-07

We flew into Bratislava from East Midlands Airport. It was nice and sunny, and we were pleased to have left the rain back in the UK. We were met at the airport by Miro, our local guide and Jan, the driver of the yellow minibus, which took us in a 2 and a half hour drive to Terchova, north and east of Bratislava. It was close to midnight when we got there, so we quickly registered at the hotel and went to sleep.

The next day was our first acclimatization day. After a hearty breakfast at the Penzion, we took a local bus that dropped us off at a ski resort. We walked up a very steep slope (taking many rests!) and made it to the highest point of the day Velky Kryvan (1709m). We then followed the ridge Eastwards, and walked back to Terchova. This took us about 8h and we covered some 15km.

The next morning was spent at the local supermarket buying the expedition food. In the afternoon we did a short Gorge walk down the Dolne Diery, famous for being the ambushing ground of a local hero similar to our Robin Hood. To cool down we dipped into a small pool at the end! We finished a bit early so we could have time to pack for the beginning of the expedition. On our fourth day of expedition we took a local bus to Varin and from there we walked to Strecno. This was a long day, taking us into the Martinske Hole. We camped near the summit of Velka Luka, next to a spring.

After regaining the ridge, the group walked in a general south westerly direction, and we all camped at Sedlo pod Hnilickou Kycerou, in a small pine forest, close to another spring. The day temperatures were unseasonally warm, around 35 degrees Centigrade. In the evenings it cooled a bit. Our strategy was to get up at 4am, leave for 6am and finish the day around 2-4pm, trying to avoid the worst of the heat, and trying not to run out of water!

The following day we carried along the ridge, we had now left the Martinsky hole, and the ground was hillier, though not as high, and we entered a limestone area with beech forests instead of pine and oak. Our high point of the day was also our final summit Klak (1351m). We then camped at a nearby hut where there was a spring. This was our final night of the qualifying expedition.

The next day there were still a few more saddles and hills to negotiate, but the group finished around 4.30pm in Cicmany. We had a cool drink at the local bar, and celebrated our success at the local restaurant. We then went out of the village and found a suitable venue for our final wild camp.

We got picked up by Jan in his yellow bus at 10am from Cicmany and taken to Rajecke Teplice, to the Penzion Villa. Everybody changed and got ready to go to the local swimming pool to enjoy a day of swimming and throwing ourselves down the flumes, and eating lots of ice scream too! We had dinner at a local restaurant and joined in to some dancing to the tune of Slovakian songs sung by a karaoke man!

On the final day of the expedition we travelled to Bratislava, and after dropping our stuff off at our final Hotel (near the airport) Jan drove us into Bratislava. Our first stop was the castle, and then we walked into the old town. We had lunch at a students restaurant. Some of us had garlic soup in a bowl made from a giant bread roll! A little bit more shopping and some more eating and then we met Jan again next to the Danube, and we made it back to our hotel.

The next day it was time to go home. After an early breakfast at 7am we made it to the Airport, and said our goodbyes to Jan and Miro. We flew back to Stansted, and then the group flew to Guernsey.