This is the first of four posts about our 2025 vacation in the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše / Karkonosze), see Vacation in the Giant Mountaints for an introduction.

On our first full day, we decided to start with the most obvious target: Sněžka (snow top / Schneekoppe), the highest summit of the Giant Mountains (and also of the Sudetes mountain range and of the Czech Republic).

Starting near Karpacz train station (600m) at about 09:00, we took the Śląska Droga path from the outskirts of Karpacz (800m) to Biały Jar (1225m), which we reached at about 11:00. It's steep, but easy terrain, and seems to be the main tourist trail from Karpacz up to Sněžka: it wasn't exactly packed, but definitely crowded. As neither of us hike up mountains every day, we made frequent breaks along the way – there aren't too many (free) seats or benches, but plenty of stones that can serve as seats when needed.

Up next is a relatively even segment via the Zbyszek's upper aerial way station and Dom Śląski (Silesian house); we got there at about 12:15. The path already offers some nice views down into the Polish lowlands and towards Sněžka, and also seems to be quite popular. It's close to the timber line, and you can already see the vegetation getting smaller and more compact.

Finally, we took a segment of Droga Przyjaźni Polsko-Czeskiej (the Polish-Czech friendship trail) for the final serpentine climb up Sněžka (1603m). This is a pretty steep and stony one-way path; alternatively, Droga Jubileuszowa (Jubilee road) offers a less steep way up through better terrain. Droga Przyjaźni Polsko-Czeskiej definitely has the better views – you get to look into an unnamed and unpopulated Czech valley and can also see the next range of the Giant Mountains and the Czech lowlands behind it, as well as a plateau of the Giant Mountains to the west.

Sněžka itself was pretty crowded, but a good spot for radio experiments, so we stayed there from about 13:00 to 13:50. The views are nice, but the paths around it are more interesting. The Sněžka peak sits comfortably above the timber line, so there is hardly anything growing there at all.

We quickly scrapped our original plan of returning via Śląska Droga, and instead chose to follow Droga Przyjaźni Polsko-Czeskiej to the east until we'd find the next path down to Karpacz at Soví sedlo / Sowia Przełęcz (owl pass / Eulenpass). This turned out to be an excellent idea – the path was far less busy, and really drove home just how much a few dozen metres of ascent or descent affect the height of the vegetation next to the path. As the trail largely follows the Czech–Polish border, you'll frequently pass border stones.

Also, the views back to Sněžka and to either side are, unsurprisingly, very good.

We reached Soví sedlo / Sowia Przełęcz (owl pass / Eulenpass) at about 15:20. The way back to Karpacz took us through a valley next to the Płomnica (Plagnitz) stream and was easily as steep as the ascent towards Biały Jar and Sněžka, just with a bit more serpentine segments and less even surfaces. There's lots of fruit growing in the upper parts of the path, and plenty of water (including on the trail itself) further down.

We returned to our room near Karpacz train station at about 18:30. More photos are available at lib.finalrewind.org/Sněžka 2025.