Winter Hike – Pustevny to Radhost, Czech Republic
January 5th, 2011
On a very cold first day of the year 2011, my wife and I travelled to the Beskydy Mountains in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic. We were going to go on an adventurous winter hike from the Pustevny Mountain to the Radhost Mountain.
Some people might think we’re crazy to go hiking in temperatures of -10° walking through clouds as we hiked up the mountain, but we like a bit of adventure in our lives! We were not the only ones braving the bitterly cold weather, as we walked past a few other adventurers along the hike, including an elderly couple.
It was amazing to see the trees and bushes covered all in white looking like they were coral reefs under the sea. And when the clouds came rushing past us as we climbed up higher on Radhost mountain, you could feel the icicles forming on your eyelashes and eyebrows.
It was an easy hike stating at pustevny and got harder and harder as we reached Radhost. The weather at the top of the mountain was bitterly cold and it made it difficult to use my camera in such freezing conditions. My Canon IXUS 100IS just froze after 50 seconds, plus when I took my gloves off to use the camera I could not feel my fingers after a few seconds!
At the end of the hike trail was the Chapel and statue of St. Cyril and Metodej. Because of the weather, the Chapel was hardly visible through all the winds and clouds and it felt like we were in a scene of a horror movie, as a mysterious chapel stood before us while the winds and snow howled around us! Take a look at the video footage below:
It was a thrilling experience undertaking a winter hiking in such difficult conditions, but it was such fun. I can’t wait to go on another winter hike in the next couple of days.
To view more photos of the hike please visit my Flickr set here
To watch more videos of the hike please visit my YouTube channel here
