Ust-Chorna - Lopukhiv - mountain ridge Shasa (Mt. Svydova, Mt. Berlyaska, Mt. Pidpula) - mountain ridges Svydivets / Apshynets (Mt. Ungaryaska, Mt. Troyaska, Mt. Dogyaska, Mt. Kotel, Mt. Stih) - Dragobrat Ski Resort - Yasinya

Distance: 54.6 km / 34 mi of which only about 3 km (less that 2 mi) are on pavement; about 8.5 km / 5.3 mi are on very poor pavement and/or dirt (shown in green); the ascent from Lopukhiv to the elevation of approximately 1250 m / 4100 ft (distance of about 3.5 km / 2.2 mi) and descent from the Dragobrat Ski Resort to Yasinya along a minor side ridge (distance of about 10.5 km / 6.5 mi) are "somewhat questionable" as to the riding conditions; the remaining 29 km / 18 mi are the actual travers of the mountain ridges Shasa and Svydivets (including the Apshynets ridge) and are supposedly fairly rideable since those are believed to be mostly jeep roads (these mountains are one of the favorite places of off-road driving enthusiasts not only from Ukraine, but also from the neighboring countries).

Elevation: n/a at this time

Gradient: n/a at this time

Without a doubt, this route is suitable for mountain bikes only.

Peaks that belong to the Svydivets mountain ridge and, in part, to the Apshynets ridge (Mt. Ungaryaska, Mt. Troyaska, Mt. Dogyaska, Mt. Kotel, Mt. Stih) are marked with placemarks with black dots. Peaks that belong to the mountain ridge Shasa (Mt. Svydova, Mt. Berlyaska, Mt. Pidpula) - without dots. Mountain lakes (Troyaska, Gerashaska or Dogyaska, and Vorozheska) are marked with push-pins. Dragobrat Ski Resort is marked with a "skier" icon.

It is unclear what the most bicycle-friendly way onto the top of the Shasa ridge is if any. In 2010, a group of mountain bikers from the Velotourist club went up a river bed:

Looks pretty bad. What's worse is that, when the river ended, the "road" ended. The only option they had was to climb an extremely steep slope covered with logs and branches:

Their report in Russian can be found on the Velotourist web site.

According to this article on Bieszczadski Serwis Internetowy (in Polish), there is a road (possibly, a part of it or all of it is a logging road) that goes from Lopukhiv at least to the top of Mt. Svydova (bright green place marker without a dot), but it is unclear where in Lopukhiv it starts.

There is no information about the last off-road stretch from Dragobrat to Yasinya (about 10.5 km / 6.5 mi), except that it is marked as a "ski trail" on a Hungarian tourist map. The alternative is to take the road that shuttles for skiers use (shown in khaki on the map) and then take the highway (shown in purple) to Yasinya.

 

Additional resources:

More information about Ust-Chorna, Ukraine

Some variants of the geographic names used on this page (read more about these lists here):

  • Ust-Chorna, Ust-Chernaya, Ust-Tschorna, Königsfeld, Ustchorne, Ustčorna
  • Lopukhiv, Brusztura, Lopukhov, Brustury, Brustura, Brusztára, Brister, Lopuchovo
  • Yasinya, Yasinia, Jasiňa, Körösmezö, Iasin, Jassinja, Jasinia
  • (Mountain ridge) Svydivets, Svydovets, Svidivets, Svidovets, Fagyalos, Svidovec, Szvidovec, Świdowiec

 

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, this is a draft and, as such, may or may not be accurate.
Use at your own risk.