High Scardus Ultra 2022

1.1. SCARDUS STAGE ULTRA 105K - Stage 1: Goat Trail 55 - Stage 2: Lynx Trail 50 This two-day stage race will appeal to experienced ultra-trail runners, with excellent physical and mental conditioning to complete a demanding and highly technical course in a high mountain alpine setting. Start: 03 SEPTEMBER 2022, 06:00, Popova Shapka / Kodra e Diellit, N. Macedonia Total distance: 106,9 km Total ascent: 6111 m D+ Total descend: 7,462 m D- Stage 1: 51 km / 2994m+ / 3,229m- Stage 2: 55,9 km / 3117m+ / 4133m- time limit: 23 h (11h-12h) aid stations: 12 Course description of Scardus Stage Ultra 105K Stage 1: Goat Trail 55KM Popova Shapka (Kodra e Diellit) in North Macedonia is the base for many hiking routes in the Sharr Mountains. It is located at 1,700 alt, looming above the city of Tetovo and Polog valley. Stage 1 of the High Scardus Ultra starts there and takes you to Titov Vrv Peak (named after Marshall Tito) with its 3-story brick tower serving as a metaphorical lighthouse for the exhausted but thrilled mountain devotees. In the beginning, the trail climbs gradually to circumnavigate Ceripasina mountain where the single-track turns into a jeep road until the first sheepfold, where we join the hiking path again, to a high plateau at 2,050m. Just below Plat Peak, the views from the saddle are worth the effort – it opens an awe-inspiring view of the glacial valleys of Leshnica creek and the Pena river, and on their opposite side the vertical couloirs of Sreden Kamen (2,465 m). The race route takes you to the heart of the wilderness - in the most beautiful part of the Sharr Mountains – Leshnica Valley, a pure alpine-like glacial valley of Leshnica creek and Pena river with steep, almost vertical 1,000-meter high mountainsides. From here we descend to the Upper Leshnica area at 1,700m alt. Further down, the narrow valley broadens as Plat and Sreden Kamen eastern sides open up to a larger and flatter valley of river Pena. The route continues up between Sreden Kamen and Krivashija in mixed forests that are overshadowed by these two vertical dolomite rock faces with overhanging blocks, with holes, caves and culuar 21km from the start you will, from its north ridgeline, reach Titov Vrv Peak at 2,747m asl - the highest in the Sharr Mountains as well the highest point in High Scardus Ultra. You will be rewarded for this demanding experience with breathtaking panoramas - surrounded by the highest peaks in Sharr. In good weather, one can see as far as 100km - most of the mountain ranges in N. Macedonia, Albania as well as Kosovo. From here on forward, you will be descending from Titov Vrv by a difficult alpine and exposed terrain, but the views are amazing - you will be on top of everything around you! Within 15 km, you will reach Bogovinsko Lake under Borislavec peak (2675 m.) - the largest glacial lake in Sharr Mountains as well as the largest alpine wetland in N.Macedonia. Another 15km from the lake, you will embark on a gradual descent into Kosovo to Shutman field - a huge high mountain area of open grassland filled with many-a-streams, few wetlands and the Shutman lake – a glacial lake, which is one of the largest lakes in the Sharr Mountains at an elevation of 2,070 m. The endemic grasslands are dotted with white spots of thousands of sheep that graze here during the summer months - but be aware, in between the sheep, one might notice the mighty shepherd dogs called Sharr dog - a symbol of Sharr’s unique biodiversity. The finish line of stage 1 will await you at the low-end of the ski slopes of Mountain resort Arxhena (1,500 m) - a modern mountain lodge welcoming ultra-runners’ tired bodies with warm-hearted hospitality and traditional Albanian cuisine. Stage 2: Lynx Trail 50KM The second stage of the High Scardus Ultra 100k begins from Arxhena Resort and quickly climbs to peak Chelepinski (2,544 m) on one of the main ridgelines of the Sharr Mountains and the border between Kosovo and North Macedonia. Passing by peaks Trapeznica and Dzinibeg (both around 2,600 m), you will briefly deviate from the ridgeline to enter North Macedonia and pass by the river Pena water sources - a landscape produced by a receding glacier in the last ice age - glacial valleys, lakes, moraines and cirques. A gradual climb will take you back to the ridgeline to peak Klec (2,424 m) to glacial lakes Karanikola. You will become an awestruck witness from near and far of the extraordinary glacial forces that carved the “three rocks of Leshnica” – Plat, Sreden Kamen and Kriva Shija. As soon as you get on the ridgeline and reach Karanikolla Peak, a phenomenal panorama of the Dinaric Mountain range will open up again, as you are looking at far north Acrussed in Kosovo/Albania/Montenegro, the great Kosovo plains, Sharr Mountains peaks and Mount Korab and Mount Bistra to the south. Scarpa peak (2,474 m) is the home of the golden eagle and the last high altitude point of the race before descending to the finish line in the town of Prizren, some 20km away. This area is known as the highest point of an ancient trade route connecting Kosovo’s Prizren with North Macedonia’s Tetovo. This scenic and lively trail will take you downhill by a well-established dirt road, with the entire Kosovo plain spreading out in front of your eyes. The first significant landmark on the way will be Guri i Zi, a rock in the form of a dog at an altitude of 1,779 m. Passing through valleys Prislop and Stane e Struzha, a defunct border police building, within 5 km down a gentle downhill, you will reach Mountain hut Sharr, built in 1951. From there, the trail-road will continue through mixed forests and rocky bare terrain in the vicinity of the villages of Jablanice and Pusko. As you continue your run reaching the trail that belongs to the area of Prizren, you will capture glimpses of the awe-inspiring Lumbardh Gorge gradually opening up. This natural reserve features special biological, geographical, hydrologic and landscape values. Numerous water springs flow into the Lumbardh of Prizren which in this area, due to its sloppy and rocky terrain, form numerous waterfalls, small and large lakes. During the final kilometers of the race, you will pass through a few picnic areas in a beautiful pine forest until you make an entrance into the historic Prizren fortress with superb top views of the city served from above. You might want to pause for a moment to reflect on this place’s long and varied history, with earliest archeological remains dating back as far as 1100 BC and the fortifications being held at different stages by the Byzantines, and the Ottoman rulers of Kosovo until the 20th century. From here, you will enjoy the final meters of the race with a glorious finish through Prizren’s historical old town, which boasts architectural highlights from its Ottoman, Orthodox and Christian past, into Center square, where all of the High Scardus Ultra races finish. And when you finish, pause your thoughts and as you gaze around far, you will understand that Prizren is surrounded by mountains. It is in this dynamic natural context and very suitable geographical relief, that the century-old architecture and civilization of Prizren has been built.