High Scardus Ultra
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.
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Start: 03 SEPTEMBER 2022, 06:00, Popova Shapka / Kodra e Diellit, N. Macedonia
Total distance: 105 km
Total ascent: 6111 m D+
Total descend: 7,462 m D-
Stage 1: 51 km / 2994m+ / 3,0759-
Stage 2: 55,9 km / 3117m+ / 4133m-
time limit: 23 h (11h-12h)
aid stations: 12
itra: 5 points
PRICE:
Early bird: 80 EUR
The price include:
*Branded shirt and bandana
*Food and refreshments at the checkpoint.
*Transport from Prishtina to Skopje and Tetovo - to Popova Shapka - Kodra e Diellit (Macedonia)
*Transport of your luggage from Popova Shapka - Kodra e Diellit (Macedonia) to Brod (Kosovo) and from Brod to Prizren.
*Private Tents (mattress, sleeping bag) on 3rd - Popova Shapka - Kodra e Diellit and on 4th- Brod (Kosovo) for High Scardus Ultra Runners.
Not included:
Food which is not mention.
You have an option for Hotel Scardus-Popova Shapka / Kodra e Diellit and Hotel Arxhena in Brod / 20 euro per night
Course description of Scardus Stage Ultra 105K
Stage 1: Goat Trail 55KM
Popova Shapka (Kodra e Diellit) in North Macedonia 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, 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 mountain sides. From here we descend to the Upper Leshnica area at 1,700m alt.
The route continues up between Sreden Kamen and Krivashija in mixed forests, and then continues to 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.
From here on forward, you will be descending from Titov Vrv by a difficult alpine and exposed terrain. Within 15 km, you will reach Bogovinsko Lake under Borislavec peak (2675 m.) - the largest glacial lake in Sharr Mountains.
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 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.
From Karanikolla Peak the run continues to Scarpa peak (2,474 m), where is the home of the golden eagle and the last high-altitude point.
From here, the trail is gentle down, all the way to Zaplluzha village and few kilometers on the roads, and 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.
From here, you will enjoy the final meters of the race accompanied by Prizren’s historical heritage, friendly faces, the smell of abundant traditional food and simply feel a vibe that is so unique from all other places you’ve ever been to, surrounding your whole being-that is the magic of this culturally rich town.