Winter attempt to the mystic Luboten.

The final ascent to the peak, January 13, 2019

Luboten or otherwise called Ljuboten, a fantastic steep mountain known as the king of the Sharr mountains. It is a unique mountain and the peak is so special that you can see it from many cities of Kosovo and from Macedonia. The Sharr mountain range lies in the border between Kosovo and Macedonia and are over 100km long which they end in Radika at Vraca e Vogel 2538m.

 I always wanted to do this mountain in winter even though I have summited it before but I wanted to feel the mountain when it is in it's most wild time.

 It is the 13th of January, Sunday and me with Shpendi, Laureat decided to go hiking and suddenly in that cold morning we saw Genti and Engjell with his brother Blendi. They wanted to summit it too. As soon as the bus came, we got in and we were enjoying every moment. What's the best thing during an early morning? It's the sunrise. We had one desire, we still hadn't realized that we were going to an unforgettable adventure, which was Luboten, in the sharr mountains.

A camping tent seen on top of Luboten.

 During the ride, we stopped at Hib Petrol to buy something to eat because it was going to be a long day. The sun started to rise with a magic light mixed with beautiful colors covering the white mountain, which I would rather call it Golden Luboten. As Bear Grylls would say "Life is an adventure that is best lived boldly", we started the hike with Klubi Alpin Prishtina alongside with the leader of the expedition Nazmi Hasanramaj. It was a really moderate pace, very enjoyable to walk, hearing the squeaky footsteps in the snow, it was a bit cold but not for the adventure lovers. We were getting faster by each step, and others behind us were running to catch up with us. Trees were cracking, the wind was howling, snow kept increasing tremendously. It was calm, as we could understand better nature, it was speaking to us.

 Our first stop was at an old wood cabin, we could see just the roof, all that snow had overlaid this cabin that gave it a smooth look, the nature has done his own thing. The climb continued and at this moment we knew that it is going to be harder for us. As we hiked we felt the steepness of the mountain and we weren't at the antenna yet. However we handled somehow to get there even though it was windy, the small particles of snow that the wind was collecting them and throwing towards us. We arrived at the antenna and made a short break in order to wait for the other hikers to re-group. From there the real climb would start facing as we called Luboteni i Vogel (Small Luboten). 

The leader was telling us about how we are going to climb it - he was plain and simple. He started to hike up the mountain, with his Ice Axe (Cepin) and began to made some small holes in order to make it easier for us to walk due to the ice. The majority didn't had crampons with them. By forming a straight line, we continued hiking and walking in ice and snow, it was very risky and in the same time I enjoyed it. Why? Because, the unfamiliar feeling, it triggered my soul with excitement, I wanted more, no one was stopping either. The only time we stopped was when we wanted to fill our lungs with the cool air and take some pictures of our beautiful planet.

Luboten seen from the Meadow Lake trail. October 2018

It was legendary. 

We are so small compared to the force of nature, driven by that force. Our time is limited here because the conditions were nearly impossible to climb up. As Gandalf would say  "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" (a fiction character from the novel Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the ring, written by J.R.R Tolkien). It was already decided, with the help of some rope assistance and Ice axes that the leader was fixing them, we saw the peak and after 20 minutes we touched the top of Luboten despite the cold temperatures that were -26 on the summit. My hands were freezing, I couldn't feel my toes, I thought I would get frostbite but I didn't care, since we made it to the top, we screamed from happiness, thanks to mother nature that let us walk and climb the mountain, the majority of the group summited at 13:25 PM. At that moment we stood there and felt the view in front of us, we could see a part of the sharr mountain range, it was very windy and cold. Everyone sat there, eating, drinking some frozen water, the cold weather had frozen the water. Consequently, we were certain that we had to start our return.

One of my best adventures of my life began during the descent, probably for all of us. It was a next level experience because the weather changed dramatically, the wind made it hard to walk, as a result of the snow and ice. The descent was very dangerous considering you could slip and fall into the abyss. The unprecedented nature of the mountain once again showed itself and told us that I am here, you have to challenge me once again in order to go down. Being aware of the mountain's power, the strong winds, the snow in your face, that felt like sand in your eyes, instinctively I sat down and cleared my mind and focused myself on the step but it was fun. A man was falling and couldn't stop because of the ice but with the help from Nazmi he was saved, he jumped over him and grabbed his backpack and with his Ice Axe hit the ground.We continued our descent knowing of the surroundings and managed to get back to the antenna safely. 

Moreover, we stopped by a old wood cabin, took off our backpacks, put some warm clothes on and stayed there for a bit. Being happy we went on and  later after a chill hike we got down to the bus and headed back to Prishtina. We were very proud for ourselves. As long as we went to the peak and got back safely and no one was injured. That is the real thing about an adventure as Bear Grylls said: "If you risk nothing, you gain nothing". We learned that we could do something extraordinary but in the meantime we could even risk our lives, in the worst case scenario we could return. Be proud of you are and live a humble life, thank you mother nature for letting us feel your wrath and your joy.

The complete length of this trail is 17 to 18 km. Min Elevation: 1,104 m, Max Elevation: 2,498 m. The total time is for about 10 hours.

Different ways that you can hike this mountain:

1.  You chose the highway from Prishtina to Ferizaj and head for old road that leads you to Tetovo. The start of the hike is from Restaurant Bulica, which is located in Strazhe.
2. There is another way that leads you from Brezovica to the Meadow Lake or Gjoli Lake or Liqeni i Livadheve. The trail is marked and very easy you can find it in Wikiloc.
3. The last but not least is from Macedonia from a village called Staro Sello or from Rogachevo.

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