Hiking Difficulty Scale

Hiking trails can be categorized according to fitness requirements and other characteristics of the trails, skills needed and the conditions on the route. A hiking trip, i.e. the stage of a trip can include several hiking trails of various difficulty levels.

Fitness levels 

The fitness level is proportional to the energy consumed to pass the trail in limited time. This scale (without symbols) is taken from the PK Horizont website. Some other Croatian mountaineering clubs (HPD Runolist, HPD Zagreb Matica ..) use a similar scales that,do not include the altitude difference or duration. The altitude difference is cumulative, i.e. it is calculated as the sum of all ascents and which is always greater than the difference of the destination in relation to the starting point.

Fitness Level	Label	Symbol (used on this site)	Duration	Altitude difference
easy	K1		< 5 h	< 500 m
medium difficult	K2		< 7 h	< 1000 m
difficult	K3		< 9 h	< 1300 m
very difficult	K4		>=  9 h	> 1300 m

The estimated values should suit the average hiker in ideal conditions with a light backpack. Breaks are not included in this assessment.

Some factors that can further affect time consumption:

• backpack weight
• difficulties with orientation (lack of signs, fog), wandering
• trail impassability - natural (obstacles on the trail) or a crowd on demanding sections
• accumulated tiredness (on multi-day tours)
• injuries, diseases and other ailments (blisters, etc.)

Technical grades

Na ovom sajtu koristi se jednostavna klasifikacija tehničke zahtjevnosti puta s tri kategorije i dodatnom četvrtom (visokogorski put) koja je kompilacija preporuka donesenih na sastanku komisija za putove HPS-a, PSS-a, PZS-a održanog na Kalniku 2018. i klasifikacije Austrijskog planinarskog saveza (OAV). Dakako, u RH nema visokogorskih puteva. Ova klasifikacija poklapa se s klasifikacijom prema članku Planinarski putevi i markacije @HPS, a oznake su prema spomenutim preporukama. U RH  te se oznake (s trokutiima) tek počinju koristiti, dok su u Sloveniji i Austriji česte (u Sloveniji "trokuti" a u Austriji "boje"). 

This site uses a simple technical classification of the trails with three categories and an additional fourth (alpine trail) which is a compilation of recommendations made at the meeting of the commissions for trails HPS, PSS, PZS held in Kalnik 2018 and the classification of Austrian mountaineering alliance (OAV). Of course, there are no high mountain trails in the Republic of Croatia. This classification coincides with the classification according to the article Hiking trails and markings @HPS, and labels used on the site are according to the mentioned recommendations with optionally added symbol. In the Republic of Croatia, these labels (with triangles) are just beginning to be used, while in Slovenia and Austria they are common ("triangles" in Slovenia and "colors" in Austria).

Grade	Label (HPS, PZS, PSS)	Label (OAV)	Symbol (used on this site)	Description
not demanding	(no label)			easier trails that can be narrow and steep the usage if the hands is not needed
demanding				mostly narrow trails, often steep with possible exposed sections and danger of falling possible short secured shares recommended use of a helmet, safety equipment is not necessary, but individuals may need it (especially children and inexperienced) possible required the usage hands for balance
				narrow, often steep and exposed trails with the danger of falling frequent secured sections that require the use of hands and for moving need a safe step and not be afraid of heights necessary safety equipment (helmet, climbing harness and ferrata set)
alpine trail				trails and section without trails on exposed rocky terrain and high mountains exposed and slippery trails with the danger of falling possible secured and not secured climbing sections, mandatory insurance equipment possible snow sections and glaciers and possible necessary winter equipment danger of altitude sickness danger of avalanches of 2nd or higher degree

The next scale is wide used in Croatian hiking, even it is not official. Another scales are used in other countries, especially alpine countries. The overview of Swiss and German classification is given in article: Alpine Grades Calculator @ bergfreunde.de.

T1 – not demanding (without using hands and other devices except hiking poles)

T2 – medium demanding (on some places hands are needed for easy climbing)

T3 – demanding (often usage hands and safety devices – via ferrata, in winter, occasional usage of crampons and ice axes)

T4 – very demanding (longer and more demanding parts of secured ways or in winter, continuous usage of crampons and ice axes)

Additionally other categories can be included in assessment of the trail difficulty. eg. terrain (soil, stones..), orientation difficulties, etc.