Winter hike to Rossi’s shelter via Premužić trail has been on my wish list for a long time. The terrain in Northern Velebit is very inaccessible, especially in winter because it gets the biggest amount of snow in the country, plus the weather can change instantly, making things even more difficult. So, it was a challenge!

Jagor has been my Velebit hiking partner for almost 10 years now, Saša went for the first time! and straight into the fire… We set off Friday after work, left the car below Alan and hiked up to the hut. The next day was really sunny and nice, lots of snow covering all trail marks. Snowshoes were necessary to be able to walk on 2 meters of snow. The things ran pretty smoothly, every now and then we would check smartphone GPS for the direction, which proved to be very helpful in most situations. Few times it nearly sent us who knows where but our common sense and experience got ahead of it.

After about 5 hours of walking we reached Crikvena. This is where forest ends and rocky part of the trail begins, lots of cliffs and steep terrain around. The weather started to turn quickly, the wind picked up and visibility dropped. GPS started showing some really illogical directions, and we had to rely on instinct and previous knowledge of the trail. One hour later we were at Rossi’s shelter. Luckily there was plenty of firewood in the shelter so we didn’t have to look for it under the snow in bad weather.

Same view, spring and winter

The storm continued through the night and we woke up with another meter of fresh snow. All of our footprints were gone and the scenery changed dramatically, making orientation extremely difficult. Visibility and wind were pretty bad. After a few doubtful looks and 2 hours of struggle we had reached Crikvena (500-600m of air distance). Later on things were much easier and we reached Alan fairly quickly.

Velebit can never be underestimated, the proximity of Adriatic coast gives you false security. This mountain can be as dangerous as any other if you are not prepared for it.

Take a look at my photos. Nikon D750 +28mm & 85mm