adventure & travel

Road Trip to Tatra | Part 2

Fog, a lost backpack and powder in Poland

by Jan Imberi • 12/20/2017

In part 1 of his travel report, Jan Imberi reported on the steep gullies of the Tatra Mountains. Reason enough to explore the small mountain range even further. If only the visibility were better...!

More ski tours in the Tatras - that's our plan. We now want to climb Mount Vysoka via the north face and ski down the south flank. In the morning, however, the mountains are shrouded in thick clouds. Not a good sign.

Miro had described the route to us the day before: One of the possible approaches to the Vysoka is from the north via the highest hut in the High Tatras, the Chata pod Rysmi at 2250 m. From there, you cross a snowfield to below the north face, follow a ledge below the rock face and reach a chimney. Via this you reach the saddle Stribina za Kohitikom on the west ridge at 2400 meters. From the saddle, traverse to the south flank and continue up to the Vysoka summit at 2547 meters. The terrain offers numerous downhill options, some of which are interspersed with rocks. There is also a gully between the two humps of the summit leading to the Zlomiská Dolina to the south.

In view of the poor weather conditions, however, we had little hope of a successful ascent. To be on the safe side, we had prepared a plan B: Climbing the nearby Rysy, the highest mountain in Poland (2503m), right on the border with Slovakia.

Propane gas cylinders in the forest

As we head up the Menguskovská Dolina, the sun appears at times and we gain hope. At the fork in a forest path, we reach the depot of the Chata pod Rysmi hut, where there are propane cylinders. We read on a sign that anyone who carries a propane gas cylinder to the hut using the hut's own harness will be rewarded with free food. The huts in the Slovakian Tatras are not supplied by helicopter. Hut teams have to carry their own supplies. We are now standing in front of the propane cylinders. Each one weighs eleven kilograms. We postpone the delivery service indefinitely. Later, we will see for ourselves how the cylinders are carried up the mountain.

We leave the forest behind us and reach the open valley. A strong wind is blowing and visibility is rapidly decreasing. We climb steeply uphill, each lost in our own thoughts. Will a window of sunlight appear? Is the chimney to the west ridge of the Vysoka well snowed in, so that we can easily scramble up with ice axes and crampons?

The ascent to Chata pod Rysmi is marked with poles. A shadowy figure appears in front of us over a crest, moving ponderously. Next to it, I recognize a dog following the figure. It is a man on skis. He is carrying an impressive bundle of different boxes on his back, which are piled high above his head. He is also balancing a snow shovel across it. The open buckles of his old ski boots jingle in time with his steps and the music on the radio he is carrying.

When we catch up with the man and his dog, I am surprised. He may be around 60 years old with his shaggy beard, but he radiates such confidence and aloofness that we don't dare ask him if we can take something off his hands.

At a steep section where we have to shoulder our skis and put on crampons, we catch up with a young ski tourer who is also heading towards Rysy on his own. We offer him the chance to join us. Nikolai is young, maybe 20 years old, studies in Poprad and has set off on the Tatra train early in the morning to spend his day off in the mountains.

Ski tours without visibility

After the steep section, we get back on our skis and try to find our bearings in the thick fog. There are no rocks or poles to guide us. But suddenly a gray, elongated block appears out of nowhere in front of us. It is the roof of the snow-covered Chata pod Rysmi.

We want to take a break, but the hut door is locked. The man we overtook earlier was probably the owner of the hut.

We discuss which route we should now take: to the rock face of the Vysoka or towards the Rysy summit. The visibility is miserable. We can barely see our hands in front of our eyes. We decide to climb further up into the basin. Perhaps the visibility will improve.

The terrain becomes steeper and the fog more impenetrable. In the end, we decide on the safe option: the ascent to Rysy. We climb in hairpin bends up to the summit ridge. The 200 vertical meters seem like an eternity. The small layer of fresh snow on a blanket of old snow smears under our skis like soap, so we have to track carefully and with a lot of edge pressure. Then it finally flattens out. I come to a halt. The abyss in front of me. I realize that I'm standing on a cornice. I carefully move back.

Finally, the visibility improves and the summit ridge of the Rysy appears. A glance at the map tells us that we should set up our ski depot here. We take off our skins, put on our crampons and pack our backpacks with our skis into a shallow hollow in the snow. Falko, however, doesn't strap his skis onto his backpack, but buries them straight down while his backpack lies next to him. I hear a long drawn-out "Sssccchhhh". In the corner of my eye, I see his backpack disappear between the rocks. Then there is silence. We look at each other in amazement, follow the skid trail that leads directly into the west face of the Rysy and see: nothing.

Then we realize: ABS, skins, ski goggles, hat, thermos flask, food - all gone. Luckily, Falko at least had the crampons on his feet and the ice axe in his hand. But we couldn't solve the problem now. So we decided to climb to the summit first before looking for the backpack. When we reach the summit, we still have hope of finding the backpack again.

The search in the fog

We descent. It clears up for a moment and we can see the west face. The backpack is not caught in the upper part of the wall as we had hoped. Instead, we think we spot it a few hundred meters below on a snowfield. Falko wants to descent directly through the west face to find the backpack. Although I know from Miro that there is a variant, it is very steep and exposed and could be a tricky undertaking in the conditions and without a rope.

A look at the map shows us that we can also reach the snowfield from below with a short ascent. If the backpack had got stuck somewhere in the wall, we would have no choice but to hope for better weather. We therefore decide to descent along the ascent route towards Chata pod Rysmi and from there further down into the valley. Not a particularly pleasant descent - more like groping for the right path. Below the snowfield where we suspect the backpack is, we stop and climb up again. Falko, visibly driven by the approaching dusk, runs ahead in long strides. Nikolai and I spread ourselves out on the slope to increase our chances of being hit. Outlines keep appearing - the backpack at last? But they are only small rocks. We're about to give up when Falko finally shouts: "I've got it!"

We head through the forest to Popradské Pleso Chata to celebrate our successful finish with a beer.

Poland - Dolina Roztoki

The next day, the sun is shining. We want to take it easy today. The efforts of the last few days are making themselves felt. We set off on a tour to the neighboring Mlynická Dolina to explore the mountain range around the Satan peak from the west. At midday, the weather takes a turn for the worse. We decide to continue on to Poland on the northern side of the mountain range.

A mountain road winds its way along the foot of the mountain range, linking the alpine centers Štrbské Pleso, Starý Smokovec and Tatranská Lomnica. The road offers a fantastic panorama: on one side the prominent peaks of the Slovakian Tatras, on the other the plain Podtatranská kotlina, with the folded ridges of the Low Tatras rising behind it. Unfortunately, our week in the Tatras is almost over. We therefore decide not to make a detour to the Low Tatras.

We drive via Tatranská Javorina to Lysá Polana. A cul-de-sac leads directly after the Polish border to Polania Palencia. There, we park the bus in a paid parking lot.

That same evening, we want to climb up to a mountain hut located by the Przedni Staw Polski lake at 1692 m above sea level. The hut is called Schronisko w Dolinie Pieciu Stawow. Our parking space is at 984 m - so we still have a few meters of altitude ahead of us. We strap our skis onto our backpacks, as there is no snow here. We follow the road with our headlamps on, where we meet the occasional tourist. After just under an hour on asphalt, we reach the turn-off into Dolina Rotztoki, a narrow and dark valley. The steep, rocky hiking trail is covered in ice. We are about to unpack our crampons when the path becomes flatter for the time being. It's quiet - only our ski boots creak. The path leads us uphill at times and then downhill again. The forest is dense and dark, really eerie. In many places, the path is so steep that we can't climb up with skins. We want to get to the hut as quickly as possible. Relieved, we finally see the light of the Schronisko w Dolinie Pieciu Stawow.

Dolinie Pieciu Stawow Polskirch

The Schronisko w Dolinie Pieciu Stawow hut is located in a magnificent high valley, the Dolinie Pieciu Stawow Polskirch. The highest peaks are Miedziane (2233 m) to the south, Kozi Wierch (2291 m) to the north and Svinica (2301 m) to the west. In the southwest, the high valley borders the main mountain ridge Liptovske Múry, which connects the High Tatras in the east with the Western Tatras. The border between Poland and Slovakia also runs along this ridge.

The next morning, we wake up so early that the moon is still shining in the sky. No clouds - a perfect day lies ahead of us, with numerous tour options. We set off in the direction of Liptovske Múry. The slopes there have been in the shade for a long time. We were hoping for powder snow.

As we left the first steep section behind us, we discovered a gully leading to a saddle, the 2071 m high Wyżnia Liptowska Ławka. You have to put your skis on your back for the ascent. The saddle can be heavily overgrown. We are lucky: part of the cornice has already broken off.

6000 vertical meters in 6 days

We continue along the ridge to Wyżni Kostur at 2083 metres. We are in the heart of the Tatras. To our left rise the rugged rock faces of the High Tatras, to our right the gentler ridges of the Western Tatras and in front of us the view opens up once again into the Kôprová Dolina, which we had already seen from a different perspective two days ago on our tour with Miro. It is one of the smallest fold mountains in the world.

The snow on the Polish side in the Pieciu Stawow Polskirch dolina is soft, dry and not too compressed. We climb up and down repeatedly, always on the lookout for untracked terrain. After 6000 vertical meters in the last six days, we want to relax and enjoy the last day of our trip.

When we get to the hut in the afternoon, the sky darkens. We decide to spontaneously descent and start our journey home - wistfully, as we have got to know a magnificent mountain range.

What we remember about the Tatras

The Tatras are a small and extremely compact mountain range - yet still quite undeveloped. The Western and High Tatras differ in terms of landscape. However, both have breathtaking beauty. The different exposures of the individual mountain ranges make for different weather conditions. Moisture accumulates on the slopes of the Tatras, flowing in from the north-west as well as the south-west. Despite the small size of the mountains, the amount of precipitation can therefore vary zonally.

We found the people in Slovakia and Poland to be very hospitable.

Despite our lack of language skills, it was no problem to find our way around. With a few words of Polish and English, we got by just fine.

In April 2018, the Freeride World Qualifier tour will once again take place in the Low Tatras in the Jasná /Chopok ski resort, the largest ski resort in Slovakia. The most famous winter sports resort is Zakopane in Poland on the north side of the mountains.

Travel data:

Berlin - Rohacska Dolina 731km

Rohacska Dolina - Štrbské Pleso 91km

Štrbské Pleso - Polania Palencia 72.5km

Polania Palencia - Berlin 704km

Ascent to Wyżnia Liptowska Ławka — Ascent to the Wyżnia Liptowska Ławka

Jan

Photo gallery

ℹ️PowderGuide.com is nonprofit-making, so we are glad about any support. If you like to improve our DeepL translation backend, feel free to write an email to the editors with your suggestions for better understandings. Thanks a lot in advance!

Show original (German)

Road Trip To Tatra | Part 1

Jan Imberi • 12/03/2017

The Tatras - an underrated mountain range. At least according to our author Jan Imberi, who drove east with a friend in a VW bus on bad roads in March - to garlic soup and amazingly steep gullies.

Cookies 🍪