As the Špik mountain is more impressive than Velika Ponca (High Ponca), the latter is more often than not overshadowed.
There are very few people who know the origin of its name, which started to appear in the period between the two World Wars. Just like the village Gozd Martuljek, which always was and always will be known to locals as Rute, Velika Ponca received its name from the first visitors and mountain enthusiasts who came from elsewhere.
Its original name was Rutarško podne (also Poldanca or Čokata Ponca for some), i.e. a mountain above which the sun appears exactly at noon. A similar name can also be found on the Austrian border in Karavanke, where we see the names Trupejevo poldne and Maloško poldne. However, the inhabitants of Rute were not the ones who named these peaks: it was the Slovenians from the Koroška region on the other side of Karavanke. Either way, people on both sides of the mountain knew it was noon once the sun rose above its summit.
