Skalnik

Skalnik (945 m) is the highest peak of the Rudawy Janowickie range and of the Rudawy Landscape Park, but the summit itself hides in spruce forest. For the view, walk a few hundred metres on to the granite tor of Ostra Mała, where steps cut into the rock lead to a railed platform. On a clear day it reveals the entire Karkonosze (Giant Mountains), the Jelenia Góra Valley and even Mount Ślęża. Skalnik belongs to the Crown of Polish Mountains and the Crown of the Sudetes, so it is popular with peak-baggers collecting hiking badges.

Skalnik's two summits

The massif is made of Karkonosze granite and has a domed shape, clearly separated by the Pod Bobrzakiem and Rudawska passes. Skalnik has two tops. The north-eastern one is a broad wooded dome with four concrete blocks – the foundations of a former lookout tower – and a wooden sign reading "Skalnik 945 m". The south-western top bristles with impressive granite tors, the highest of which is Ostra Mała (German: Freie Koppe).

Its height is given variously as 945, 944 or 940 m. The figure of 935 m found on some maps refers to a survey marker about 50 m south of the summit rock. Two small boulder fields lie on the north-western slopes, and the whole mountain is covered with lower-montane spruce forest.

What to see

• Ostra Mała – a tor with steps carved into the granite and a viewing platform. The panorama takes in the Karkonosze with the northern part of the Lasocki Ridge, the Jelenia Góra Valley, the Izera Foothills, the Kaczawskie, Wałbrzyskie and Kamienne mountains, and the Rudawy range with the Sokole (Falcon) Mountains.
• Konie Apokalipsy ("Horses of the Apocalypse") – a group of four granite tors on the southern slope by the red and yellow trails, known in German as Friesensteine.
• Boulder fields on the north-western slope.
• Remains of the old lookout tower on the north-eastern summit.

Interesting facts

After the war the travel writer Mieczysław Orłowicz called the peak "Kamień Fryzów", a translation of the German name Friesensteine. For a short time it was known as "Skalniak" before the present name stuck. The Horses of the Apocalypse were named by scouts from a camp in Strużnica who put out a grass fire around the rocks. In 1907 a mountain hut on the summit was proposed, but it was never built.

Tripto tip

The shortest climb starts in Czarnów on the south-eastern side of the massif, where there is the Czartak hostel and a small car park; a loop via the Horses of the Apocalypse, Ostra Mała and Skalnik takes about 2–3 hours at an easy pace. Other popular starting points are Strużnica and Gruszków at the northern foot of the mountain. Take care on Ostra Mała – the stone steps can be slippery after rain and in winter. Afterwards, consider exploring the nearby Sokole Mountains or the palaces of the Jelenia Góra Valley.