priske ridge in winter

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The Priskë Enigma

Summary: Priskë lies in the shadow of Dajti - it doesn't have a cable car, no restaurants on the balcony, no television towers on top, it doesn't have an interesting shape, it has three hundred meter less altitude than Dajti, and - most importantly - it doesn't have a path to its top. This is, probably, what makes the mountain rarely visited.

But Priskë still looms large, south of Dajti. When looking at Priskë from Tirana (or better from Sauk or Commune Farkë) the summit appears to be clearly in the middle of the mountain ridge. But then, Google Earth and the Albania "Bunkertrail" map put the summit very close to Qafë Priske. The website http://travelingluck.com however seems to follow the visual impression and puts the summit in the middle.

We took two turns to find out. First we tried during winter, when snow was still lingering on the upper slopes. While the weather was glorious, movement was quite difficult, as the summit ridge of Priske is quite rocky. So we tried again in May, just to find that movement remains difficult even without snow, as it amounts to a solid bushwhack. For those wishing to try it out: stay as close to the top of the ridge all the time, from the south summit to the north summit and back, to avoid the brambles.

And for those who won't try: the north summit is higher, by about 8 Meter, according to our measurements.

Maximum altitude:	1361 meter
Minimum altitude:	862 meter
Cumulative height:	499 meter
Cumulative length:	2.68 kilometers one way
Difficulty	moderate
Time:	3 hours
Date of this record	March 2012
Download GPS info:	Priske Ridge

General location and approach: Drive to Qafë Priske (as if you were going to Dajti Mountain, but keep going instead of turning into the Park). On the height of land, take a right fork through a quarry. This road is signposted as going to Selbë. After a little over 3 km, park at the first hairpin curve.

Other Information: The ridge of Priske Mountain can be quite rocky and cliffy, and while the trail is short it may take longer than your usual time.

Maja e Priskës, seen from Sauk. The highest point appears to be in the middle of the ridge. Qafë Priske is on the left. It is used to access the trailhead behind the mountain

On our way. Mali me Gropa in the background

Mali i Snojt, seen from Priskë. See separate page for Mali i Snojt.

The ridge in winter, with a soft snow cover

A better image of the difficulty of the ridge

Dajti Mountain seen from the northern summit

the middle summit, from aling the ridge to the north summit

Kodra and Kalasës, with Tomorrit in the background

On the road between Priskë and our home, an ingenious way to protect unsuspecting drivers from falling off the bridge

GPS and trailmaps: The map and trailinformation is generated by www.wikiloc.org, based on GPS information collected from the actual hike. Waypoints can be downloaded to a GPS device from Wikiloc. If necessary, use GPSBabel to convert GPS data to different formats. For more hike descriptions by Palmtreetreeproduction, browse this website or visit Wikiloc and search for "Palmtreeproduction". You may also find nearby trails from other authors.

Google Earth: You may also view the trail in 3D by clicking "view in Google Earth" when on Wikiloc. You need to have Google Earth installed on your computer.