Student (938 m a.s.l.), also known as Zimna, is a quiet, forested summit in the Pilsko Group of the Żywiec-Orava Beskids — and it has a genuinely special distinction: the Polish-Slovak border runs right over its top. The peak also sits on the main European watershed, the invisible line that sends raindrops either toward the Baltic or the Black Sea. Two countries, two trails, one ridge walk.

The summit and its slopes are covered in dense forest, giving the place a calm, almost secluded feel. Long ago there was an open clearing here called the Student meadow, but it has long since been reclaimed by the trees — only the name survives. The ridge is rewarding in every season: fresh and fragrant in spring, pleasantly cool in summer, spectacular with beech colours in autumn, and serenely snowy in winter. On the Slovak side of the slopes you can spot the remains of wartime trenches, adding a quietly historical layer to the hike.

• From the PTTK mountain hut on Hala Miziowa — red trail (Main Beskid Trail / GSB) via Glinne Pass to Student; moderate difficulty, follows the main ridge.
• From the Slovak side via the blue trail, which merges with the red GSB trail on the main Carpathian ridge.

• The Polish-Slovak border crosses the summit — you can cross between the two countries here within the Schengen Area.
• The Polish slope falls within the Żywiec Landscape Park; the Slovak slope is part of the Horná Orava Protected Landscape Area.
• Wartime trench remains are visible on the Slovak side of the slopes.

The name 'Student' has a colourful origin: an 18th-century chronicle by Żywiec mayor Andrzej Komoniecki tells of a man named Pochopień who killed a student who had stolen his sheep on this very meadow. The same story claims a robbers' treasure melted in a fire here, and the metal was later cast into a bell for the church in Jeleśnia — not bad for a forested hilltop.