The four highest Czech peaks in a single day challenge: 40 km

• Is it possible to climb the four highest peaks in the Czech Republic in a single day? Technically, the answer is no. But it is possible to get pretty close…provided you have the stamina and fitness to walk nearly 40km, climbing around 1600m in the process.
• The Czech Republic has just four mountains with an altitude higher than 1500m. All four are located in the Krkonoše mountain range that straddles the Czech-Polish border. They are: Sněžka (1603m), Luční hora (1555m), Studniční hora (1554m) and Vysoké Kolo (1509m).
• The reason the answer to the title question is negative is not that the distance or height differential is too great (although for some of us that would probably be the case). It is simply that, apart from Sněžka, the other three Czech peaks have no marked hiking paths to their summits. The mountains are all situated in Zone 1 of the Krkonoše National Park and that means access beyond the marked trails is restricted by law.
• Nevertheless, marked trails do pass tantalizingly close to the tops of all four mountains. So, for peak baggers willing to accept a ‘capture’ being the closest legitimate access point, then the following extra long hike is a classic of its kind.
• The recommended route starts in Špindlerův Mlýn and climbs to the ridge line alongside the infant river Labe, with its cascading waterfalls, reaching the Polish border just below the peak of Vysoké Kolo. The trail then follows the Czech/Polish border traversing the famous frost shattered granite outcrops of Mužské kameny and Dívčí kameny on the ridge.
• After a partial descent to the Špindlerovka saddle, the trail crosses into Poland, passing above two characteristic glacial lakes before ascending to the summit of Sněžka. From there, the route returns back into the Czech Republic and crosses the saddle between Luční hora and Studniční hora. These two twin peaks are the highest mountains situated wholly within the Czech Republic. The descent back to Špindlerův Mlýn then follows the scenic Dlouhý důl ravine.
• The route described above is 39km long and involves at least 1550m in height gained/lost. None of the paths are particularly difficult or steep, but the walk is graded BLACK due to its length and the fact that the weather on the ridges can change quickly. It is often extremely windy. Any attempts to get closer to the three summits without a marked trail, will involve additional climbing/distance. The closest points on the marked trails are referenced in the directions below.
• Approximately 400m of height gain could be saved by taking the chair lift at Medvedín (open in the summer, early autumn months), and following the Bucharova cesta to Labská bouda. However, this would seem to somewhat reduce the adventure of an epic tour, and the superb ascending trail alongside the fledging Labe river would then be missed.
• There are several options for refreshment on the route, including at Labská bouda, Špindlerovka, Sněžka summit and Luční bouda on the return leg.
• Note: a number of shorter routes in guide, also starting in Špindlerův Mlýn, follow some of the trails used for this longer tour. These include the Sněžka direct route and the granite tors walk. For those interested, the preamble for both these walks has some more discussion about the geology of the features on these trails.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’  to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.

Directions

• Start the walk at Špindlerův Mlýn main square
• Take the BLUE trail in the direction of Medvedín, following the course of the Labe river for 9km to reach the mountain hut of Labská bouda
• From Labská bouda, take the YELLOW trail towards the ridge line and Sněžné jámy trail junction, which is reached after 1.8 km
• At Sněžné jámy, turn right onto the RED trail in the direction of Sněžka – this is now Poland
• The trail passes within 200m of the Vysoké Kolo summit, and the closest point is reached 600m after leaving Sněžné jámy junction (note: the trail runs on the Polish side of the mountain, and access to the Polish summit is, apparently, unrestricted)
• Continue on the RED trail, passing the granite block formations of Mužské kameny and Dívčí kameny and then descending to Špindlerovka (6.5 km from Sněžné jámy)
• From Špindlerovka continue on the RED trail crossing into Poland again, passing the two glacial lakes and climnbing on the main path up to Sněžka summit (9.3km from Špindlerovka)
• From the Sněžka summit, return down on the same path as far as the Równia pod Śnieżką trail junction (1km from the summit – note there are refreshment options in the Polish hut)
• At Równia pod Śnieżką, turn onto the BLUE trail in the direction of Luční bouda, which is reached after 2.4 km (refreshment options at the hut)
• At Luční bouda take the RED trail in the direction of Kaplička, which is reached after 900m. Here in the saddle between the two mountains of Luční hora and Studniční hora there is a small mountain chapel. This is the closest point on the trail to the two ‘peaks’
• From Kaplička continue on the RED trail for a further 1.5 km to reach the trail junction of Výrovka and here turn right onto the GREEN trail in the direction of Špindlerův Mlýn
• The GREEN trail leads to the outskirts of the village and the Dřevařská cesta trail junction after descending through the Dlouhý důl valley
• At Dřevařská cesta turn onto the RED trail which leads after 600m to the village square