Winter Ascent of Hajla — Safet Mavrić Ćako Memorial

The Winter Ascent of Hajla is the most massive winter mountaineering event in the region — a gathering of climbers who summit the 2,403-metre Hajla peak above Rožaje in full winter conditions each early February. Organized by the mountaineering club PSK "Hajla 2403" and held in memory of the climber Safet Mavrić Ćako, the memorial ascent is approaching its thirtieth year — roughly its twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth edition by 2026; the 2025 gathering ran from 7 to 9 February.

Rožaje in February is deep winter country: a compact town in the upper Ibar valley, surrounded by some of the heaviest forest and most reliable snow in Montenegro, with the long crest of Hajla filling the skyline above it. The mountain's broad summit ridge is a serious undertaking in snow — which is exactly the point.

This is genuine winter alpinism, not a snowshoe walk: participants climb with crampons and ice axes through deep-winter conditions on one of the great peaks of the Hajla–Prokletije borderlands. The three-day programme builds toward the group ascent, when hundreds of climbers from Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania move up the mountain together.

The scale is what stays with participants — a snowbound peak alive with rope teams from four countries, gathered to honour a fellow climber. Rožaje, the forested town at the mountain's foot, becomes the winter-mountaineering capital of the region for a weekend.

For those with the skills to join, the weekend delivers a rare combination: a demanding winter summit within an organized frame, and an evening culture of shared meals and mountain stories back in town. Even watching has its rewards — the sight of the long column moving up the snowfields stays with people.

Participation is free with mountaineering club registration, and winter equipment and experience are required. The memorial takes place over three days in early February, based in Rožaje.