Szrenica, Mountain summit in the Karkonosze, Szklarska Poręba, Poland
Szrenica is a granite summit in the western Karkonosze, rising to 1,362 m and standing 60 m above the main ridge; the peak lies entirely on the Polish side of the border with the Czech Republic. Its top holds a mountain hut with a dark lower storey, a steep greenish roof with dormer windows and two chimneys, next to a wooden antenna pole and rounded granite boulders.
The summit hut, the Reifträgerbaude, began as a mountain shelter on the ridge; the present Schronisko na Szrenicy stands at the top. A meteorological station of the University of Wrocław opened below the summit at 1,331 m in the 1950s, and its records from 1957–1972 give a mean annual temperature of +1.9 °C. The two-stage chairlift from Szklarska Poręba has run since 1962.
The name Szrenica likely comes from szron, the frost-like yellow-green lichen covering the granite blocks of the blockfield, or from rime on the rocks in winter. The Polish name was officially introduced in 1949; German Reifträger and Czech Jínonoš also refer to frost. At the summit stands the Schronisko na Szrenicy, with the PTTK hut on Hala Szrenicka below.
A two-stage chairlift runs from Szklarska Poręba to the summit, and a red-marked trail climbs past Wodospad Kamieńczyka and Schronisko na Hali Szrenickiej. From Harrachov a blue-marked path leads through the Mummeltal to Vosecká bouda and on to the top. The northern slopes hold the SkiArena Szrenica pistes, 98% snow-covered by machines; only the "Puchatek" run is lit for evening skiing.
The name Szrenica probably comes from szron, frost, because yellow-green lichens on the granite blocks of the blockfield look like hoarfrost from a distance; it may also refer to rime coating the rocks and trees in winter. The Polish name was made official in 1949.
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