Trail running in the mountains always offers a magical experience. Obviously, one's always looking for a clear sky to get the best views. Nevertheless, trail running can be magical also when you're running just after the rain or during the sunrise with clouds here and there. But the whole experience reaches a completely different level of excitement when you encounter wild animals. A bear encounter might not be exactly on top of the to-see list, but ibexes, chamois, and marmots - I simply can get sick of them. Any time I see them, I'm like a toddler who just got the best birthday present ever. All my friends need to listen to me about them for days - sometimes that's until the next encounter. If you'd like to annoy your friends with ibexes as well, check the list below. These are the trail runs where I encountered ibexes in 2026.
1. Kamniško sedlo
Kamniško sedlo is one of my go-to trail runs when I want to go to the mountains in the early morning before starting my job. It's close to Ljubljana, not technical, and the hut there is top-notch. I've encountered ibexes close to the hut plenty of times at sunrise. This year, I met a gorgeous male ibex - just after sunrise. Hut owners told me that they like to come close to the hut in the afternoons on weekdays after the high season is over.
2. Triglav vis Križ, Stenar, Bovški Gamsovec, Plamenice in back via Prag
Many of my friends can tell how dangerous it is to spend too much time with me. Before you know it, you're setting up your alarm clock for 3:30 AM and packing ferrata kit into your running vest. Because the true mountain adventure is only the one that drains the last bits of energy out of your body. It wasn't any different with Triglav. I persuaded my brother to join me. But obviously, this wasn't an ascent-descent type of Triglav climb. No, no. We went the full circle around Vrata Valley. Can't remember how many ibexes we encountered, as there were so many. Below the Križ and Stenar, there were one after the other. When descending from Bovški Gamsovec, we met one with long horns. And on the way back, we also saw an ibex mom with a baby.
3. Skuta in Grintavec čez Žmavčarje
Letos sem se na Skuto prvič podal junija. Na žalost sem moral obrniti, ker je bilo preveč snega, da bi rinil do vrha v tekaških čevljih. Sva pa takrat s Črtom srečala lep šopek kozorogov malo nad markirano potjo med Kokrškim in Kamniškim sedlom. Avgusta sem se še enkrat odpravil, da popravim krivico - sem podaljšal še čez Mlinarsko sedlo na Grintavec. Takrat pa sem srečal tri lepotce na poti čez Žmavčarje.
This year, I tried to climb Skuta in June, but I had to turn around as there was still too much snow to cross in trail running shoes. However, Črt and I met quite some ibexes slightly above the marked trail between Kokrško sedlo and Kamniško sedlo.In August, I decided it was payback time. This time I extended the route to also visit Grintavec via Mlinarsko sedlo. This time, I encountered three muscular male ibexes when ascending through Žmavčarje. They were lying on the scree and didn't care much about me.
4. Bovški Gamsovec
In June, Špela sprained her ankle. Consequently, she had to rest, so I was on my own. I used that time to climb the Bovški Gamsovec. I started in total darkness - way before sunrise. I was the first one on the top this morning. Once I started descending towards Luknja ... Oh, my God! A huge ibex herd - from muscular males to moms with their newborn babies. I walked through the herd - right next to them. Vau!
5. Špik Hude police
Z otroci nam je letos uspelo videti sviza in gamsa v enem dnevu. V zbirki nam je manjkal samo kozorog. Razmišljal sem kam naj gremo, da nebo predolga pot za otroke in da bomo zagotovo videli kozoroge. Pa smo jo mahnili na Špik Hude police, 2h45min do vrha bo pa že šlo.
In June, we went on a long family hike, and we managed to encounter a chamois and a marmot in the same day. Our collection was missing only an ibex encounter. To finish the collection, I tried to find a route that's not too long for the kid while having a high chance of seeing ibexes. We decided to give Cima di Terrarosa a try, and it was a success. We saw twelve ibexes - two of them came right to us.
One for the road
Never forget that it's we people who are guests in nature. Observe the animals as much as you want, but don't try to approach them. Also, don't forget to wear proper clothes and running shoes. Before heading to any of these, check the weather forecast and current snow situation in the mountains. Winter usually comes to the mountains much faster than to the valley.
Hope we meet somewhere!
