Paklenica

About

The Paklenica karst river canyon is a national park in Croatia. It is near Starigrad, northern Dalmatia, on the southern slopes of Velebit mountain, not far from Zadar. It contains two canyons, Mala (Small) and Velika (Big) Paklenica.

The area of South Velebit has been inhabited since prehistoric times. It is believed that, during the last ice age, the area was probably inhabited by small groups of Paleolithic hunters/gatherers, as elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Sea level must have been 120 metres (390 ft) lower than today, and the Velebit Channel was a wide valley with a river flowing through it. The highest parts of the Velebit were covered with glaciers. When sea level began to rise in the late ice age, people moved to higher, hilly areas. The earliest records of humans in Velebit – Mesolithic flint tools found in Vaganačka Cave under Veliko Rujno – date back to this era.

Approximately eight thousand years ago, the first cattle breeders and farmers arrived in the area, bringing wheat, domestic goats and sheep, as well as the knowledge of their breeding. Hunter-gathering lost its importance, and livestock-rearing began on Velebit. Plenty of material evidence, such as bones of domestic animals, tools and equipment used by prehistoric shepherds and decorated clay tableware, was found in the caves that served as shelter for people and cattle.

During the last two thousand years BC, during the Bronze Age, the first fortifications and stone buildings were erected by Liburian peoples. They could serve as shelter to the population from the surrounding villages in case of danger, and some of them may have been permanent settlements where the local rulers had their seats. In addition, they oversaw important cattle and trade routes leading to Velebit and further to Lika via Paklenica or Rujan. Some of them served to oversee navigation. They are now destroyed, but ring-shaped mounds ( "gromila", pl. "gromile" ) up to several meters in height can still be seen in some places. In the immediate vicinity of the fortifications, casket heaps – deposits of large round stone under which former rulers were buried in caskets made of stone tablets – have been found. Most of them have been dug out and the graves robbed, but they are still visible, as in the area of hamlet Ljubotić in Tribanj.

Over the last two thousand years BC, the east coast of the Adriatic was gradually conquered by the Roman legions. After the Roman province of Dalmatia was founded in the early 1st century AD, permanent Roman reign was established. Starigrad (Roman name: Argyruntum) was established at the time, and it soon developed into an important trading center. In the 4th century AD, Emperor Tiberius had it fortified with walls and towers. The town cemetery was situated by the road that led southwest of the town. Plenty of archaeological findings were collected from approximately 400 explored graves – jewelry, glassware and metalware, weapons and tools. The most interesting finding is certainly the ancient glass collection – as many as 146 vessels of different forms (bowls, glasses, bottled) – kept in the Zadar Museum of Archeology.

Life in Argyruntum came to a standstill in the early 4th century AD. The era of peace was interrupted by attacks of tribal peoples that contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire in the west. In an attempt to bring the Adriatic coast back into the Empire, East Roman Emperor Justinian built a system of fortifications to secure navigation and protect the local population. The ruins of forts and towers above Modrič and near Sveta Trojica in Tribanj are parts of this defensive system that briefly postponed the final decline of the ancient world in the Adriatic.

The arrival of Croats in this area began in the early Middle Ages. The earliest preserved traces of their presence are the chapels, St. George (Sv. Juraj) in Rovanjska, St. Peter (Sv. Petar) in Starigrad, and St. Mary Magdalene (Sv. Marija Magdalena or Trstenica) built from the 9th or 12th century AD. Two forts – Večka Kula and Paklarić – were probably erected in the late Middle Ages (14th–16th century).

On 27 June 1938, Dragutin Brahm died during an attempted ascent of Anića kuk.

In 1940, Marijan Dragman and Slavo Brezovečki successfully climbed Brahm's route up Anića kuk, naming it D. Brahm (5c).

Near the entrance to the Velika Paklenica is an artificial tunnel complex built for Josip Broz Tito during the tension between Yugoslavia and the USSR in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

On 17 July 1957, Boris Kulić and Boris Kambič of HPD Mosor ascended Mosoraški (5c) on Anića kuk, with only ropes untied from their mothers' clothes lines and homemade pitons as protection.

The 1st Yugoslav alpine climbing gathering in Anića luka was held on Labor Day in 1959.

On 4–5 October 1961, Davor Ribarović, Nedjeljko Jakić, and Matija Mlinac of PDS Velebit ascended Velebitaški (6a+) on Anića kuk.

On 4–8 October 1966, Miroslav Pleško, Stanislav Gilić, and Nedjeljko Jakić of PDS Velebit ascended Klin (6c+) on Anića kuk. The ascent took 5 days.

From 26 April through 3 May 1973, Borislav Aleraj and Marijan Čepelak ascended the 350 metres (1,150 ft) Brid Klina (7b+) on Anića kuk. The multi-pitch climb took them 8 days (then a regional record), and made national news. With an aid climbing grade of A3/A4, it was also the hardest routes in the region. Its first repeat came in 1986, by Srečo Rehberger and Tadej Slabe [ sl ]. It was repeated again in 1987 by Czechs P. Čermák and Z. Konečný. Other well-known repeaters include Boris Čujić and Martina Čufar Potard. The climb to the base of the Klin is an easy 4/5. The first pitch along the Brid is a long 7b that can be separated into multiple pitches (7b, 6c+, 6b, 6a, 5c). A 6b/7a pitch follows. The next two pitches are both 7b+ and make up the crux of the route. The Klin is then abandoned for a 4c top out.

The first ascent of Šaleški smjer (4c) on Anića kuk was made by D. Kukovec and J. Resnik. At one point, Franček Knez [ sl ] set a speed record of 11 min on the route. Knez was very active in Paklenica in the 1970s, climbing approximately 40 routes, including some of the hardest free ascents at the time, such as Kača (6a) on Anića Kuk, which he climbed together with Jože Zupan. One time when Boris Čujić was climbing the 120 metres (390 ft) Domžalski smjer (6a), Knez was overtook him. While he was about 10 metres (33 ft) below, Knez asked Čujić, "is it going [well]?" ( Serbo-Croatian : jel' ide? ), to which Čujić replied it was ( Serbo-Croatian : ide ); Knez followed up with, "the important thing is that it is going" ( Serbo-Croatian : glavno da ide ), now 10 metres (33 ft) above.

The climbing school of PDS Velebit used to take place in Paklenica during the gathering. It was during one such school on the Labor Day of 1980 that Boris Čujić, later one of the canyon's most prolific first ascenders, first climbed in Paklenica. Anića luka was full of tents, as it was the 22nd Yugoslav alpine climbing gathering, and camping there was still allowed in those days. Many climbers were camping in the rock shelters along the path, as the meadow itself would fill up, sometimes with over a hundred tents. That year, the Velebitaši followed Belgrade climbers up Brid Klina on Anića Kuk. Back at camp, stories of Franček Knez and Jan Sabolek's ascents took preeminence, as the best climbers in attendance.

In 1984, Silvo Karo, Janez Jeglič [ sl ] made the first ascent of the 350 metres (1,150 ft) long Spomin (8c) on Anića kuk, whose current route was modified with the addition of a direct exit in 1985 when joined by Franček Knez. Its first free ascent was by Luka Krajnc on 10 May 2017 after 27 days of redpointing, with Ena Vrbek as his partner. To date, no one has climbed the full overhang of the Klin ; Spomin being the closest yet. Krajnc rated the most difficult pitch 8c, the second most difficult 8b+, two 8a+, and the rest of the route reaches 7b+. Later, on 10 May, Lindič would complete a free ascent of the 350 metres (1,150 ft) Mjesečina (7c+).

In 1987, Maurizio Zanolla climbed Il Maratoneta (8b+), which remains Paklenica's most difficult sport route, repeated only thrice as of 2020.

In 1989, Paklenica's most difficult aid route was climbed by Miha Praprotnik and Matjažt Ravhekar, Jogananda (7c), at the time given the grade A4.