Nosorog (4b, 150m) on Kukovi ispod Vlake

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Paklenica
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Nosorog (4b, 150m) on Kukovi ispod Vlake

Page Type:	Route
Lat/Lon:	44.29240°N / 15.45776°E
Route Type:	Trad Climbing
Season:	Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Time Required:	Less than two hours
Difficulty:	4b (UIAA IV+ - V-)
Number of Pitches:	5
Grade:	IV
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Overview

Traffic jam in 1st pitch

Nosorog is one of the most popular routes in Paklenica. It is very easily reachable, it has some exposed parts but it is quite easy and it is not too short and not too long. You can climb it in unstable weather because the rock quality is enough good to climb if its surface is wet.
Route's length is officially 150m.
The wall is very well (maybe too) equipped.
First climbers were D. Jasprica and B. Perišic.
The route is on the massif of Kukovi ispod Vlake.

Because of the route's good position it is often overcrowded. In summer it is very hot. Climb it early morning or late afternoon.

Getting There

Just go into the national park and stop in the upper big parking place. Turn to the left and you will find a longer ridge of Kukovi ispod Vlake. Nosorog goes along on this. You can find a small wood table in the bottom of the rock so it is impossible to miss. :-) You should climb up at the table, turn left and go about 15-20m. You will find a triangle shaped metal plate at the start of Nosorog. There is a small tree.

Route Description

This route officially has 5 pitches but with a 60m rope you can climb the first two pitches in one step. If you build your first stance a little bit higher than the normal stance you can climb the first two pitches with a 50m rope too.
In summer it is recommended because this route is very sunny and hot and you can find shady places a little bit higher.

Nosorog runs on this ridge

1st pitch (III+): Start from the small Nosorog plate and climb to the left, close to the rocky ridge. It is very easy, you just step on big rocks and sometimes find bolts in the wall. At the end of this pitch you can find a chimney-like part. It's about 3m high and on the top of it you can find the first standing.

2nd pitch (III): If you have enough rope you can climb without standing. Just follow the rocky ridge, you will find some bolts but it is impossible to get lost in this part. The end of this pitch is a very comfortable standing with 2 fixed anchors. 4 persons can stay here without any problem.

3rd pitch (IV): You can see the first bolt above the standing. Maybe it is the most difficult part of the route. I think there are enough good pocket holds in the rock so it's not too difficult to get the top of this table. After that you just follow the ridge and the bolts.
There will be a place where you must stand up onto the top of a bigger stone. You can find a bolt here and you can see another to your upper-right. Don't follow this bolt if it is not necessary because you will break your rope and it will be very hard to pull up and safely belaying your second. But it's much easier to climb.
If you can just climb up vertically you will find the next very good standing here.

4th pitch (III): Just climb up on the rock. :-) You will find some bolts and if you reached the other side of the ridge you must climb down 5-6m to the next standing. It is a "standing-center" because more routes join to this place.

5th pitch (IV+ - V-): Start to climb on the table. You can find a very good crack on the left side that is not visible from the standing. It can help a lot. When you reach the top of the table there is a few meters walk-up place and after that you can find the typical Paklenica - organ-pipe like rock surface. It is the second key-point of the route.
After that you should traverse a little bit to the left and you can find a oblique trough and at the end there is a small overhanging. You can see your partner almost all this pitch.

Descending

Blackberries on the way down from Nosorog

You can find some cairns (steinmann) on the top of the route. Just follow them. The path serpentines down to the morain. On the morain it's clear where to go... down of course... :-)
Summer you can eat tasty figs and blackberries during the way. Very good after a good climbing.

From the guidebook:
"Most routes are equipped with anchorages for abseil on a rope. If you come out at the very top you should follow the ridge until the great scree and then right and downwards along the scree all the way to the parking."