Kupala Night is an old Slavic feast related to the summer solstice. Kupala Night also known as ‘Sobótka’ connects the astronomical first summer day, which falls on June 21, and the calendar first summer day on June 22. This is the shortest night of the year when the sun sets at 9:02 pm.
And this exactly day was chosen by a group of more than 60 NEWAG employees led by CEO Zbigniew Konieczek and Deputy President Bogdan Borek to climb the Crown of Polish Mountains before the nightfall. Divided into teams consisting of several people they set off along hiking trails on June 21.
The Crown of Polish Mountains is a list of 28 peaks one per each mountain range, starting from Tarnica at the Polish – Ukrainian border to the Izerskie Mountains in the Sudety with its highest peak — Wielka Kopa.
Twenty-eight teams equivalent to 28 peaks climbed several kilometre long stretches with the total elevation difference amounting to 30 thousand metres above sea level. The weather front passing over Poland which brought a change of the weather: storms, rains and temperature drop, is extremely dangerous when climbing in the mountains due to sudden weather changes. However, the difficult weather did not discourage the climbers and at sunset, 28 teams reported at their respective peaks according to the plan, thus winning the Crown of Polish Mountains.
The event was organised by Marian Ryżak, NEWAG’s employee and an originator of ‘Sądecka Dycha’ street run whose 10th edition will take place on 30 September 2018.