Mali Žurim climb (1,965 m)

Of the two peaks called Žurim – the shorter, Mali Žurim, is the more interesting to look at and climb. The taller, more massive Veliki Žurim is less dramatic, easier to climb, but the benefit is that from its peak you have an excellent view of its little brother.

Mali Žurim consists of a steep, flattened cone with three distinct sharp peaks which separate just below the summits. The easiest way to climb is to the right-hand side, as you approach from the road from Bare Bojovića, going up a stony, zigzagging path to a pass which leads towards Ilin vrh, a peak further to the right. From this point just before the pass, looking up high to the left, there is a red arrow painted onto a rock near the top of the mountain, although this is very hard to spot unless you know it is there. The slope has a lot of movable material, but there are grassy parts which provide more stable footing. The rocky peak requires some clambering, but is not dangerous on that side. We decided to climb from the other side, from in between the two Žurims, and it was a very steep climb up a grassy slope, zigzagging all the way to the middle peak, which did not take very long, but was exhausting. From the middle peak, the climb to the highest peak was awkward and potentially dangerous because of two or so metres of vertical rock that needed to be scrambled up before starting a slightly more gentle grassy slope for the last ten or so metres to the top.