Kopce Jeseníků: Skřítek

Skřítek – the last of the hills we will examine in detail in this part is the Skřítek saddle. It is located on the main road from Šumperk to Rýmařov, which brings the advantage of a good surface and the disadvantage of increased traffic. In terms of climbing, only the part from Šumperk is interesting. If we were in other parts of the country, we wouldn’t overlook its gentler side from Rýmařov, but that is not the case here. The entire climb to Skřítek is characterized by two features – length and gentle gradient. The climb starts in the village of Sobotín and ends after 13 km at the Skřítek motorway restaurant. The total elevation gain is 465 m with an average gradient of 3.6%. The first half is very mild, with only the second half getting tougher and an average gradient of around 5%. This hill is very popular among cyclists and many uphill time trials finish at the mentioned motorway restaurant. It is a classic "go full gas" hill – probably the only one in the Jeseníky where you can really push hard.