Hoverla, Ukraine [Говерла, Украина]

Mount Hoverla at 2,061 metres (6,762 ft), is the highest mountain in Ukraine and part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain is located in the Eastern Beskids, in the Chornohora region. The slopes are covered with beech and spruce forests, above which there is a belt of sub-alpine meadows called polonyna in Ukrainian. At the eastern slope there is the main spring of the Prut River. The name is of Hungarian origin and means ’snow fortress’. Hoverla is composed of sandstone, a sedimentary rock type. The date of the first ascent is unknown. In late 19th century the mountain became a notable tourist attraction, especially among tourists from nearby cities of Galicia. In 1880 the first tourist route between the peak of Hoverla and Krasny Luh was marked by Leopold Wajgel of the Galician Tatra Society. The following year the first tourist shelter was founded there. In the 20th century the mountain increasingly gained popularity as an extreme sports site. Some routes are classified as 1A in t