Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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49.12050°N / 20.13200°E |
Route Type:
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Mountaineering |
Season:
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Winter |
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Overview
Fine winter route on Kežmarský štít, but only when conditions are good. Our original plan was to use the central couloir, separating S face from SW face. Conditions were very poor - bad snow conditions and lot of ice, so we decided to use narrow couloir leading up from Cmiter to Kežmarská štrbina (2463 m). In good conditions it should take us half a day, but since the conditions weren't favourable it took us 16 hours (Skalnaté pleso - Kežmarský štít - Tatranská Lomnica) - the whole rocky section to Lievikový kotol was covered by thin layer of snow and ice, and since this section is covered by smooth rocks, there was almost no chance to put any protection there.Getting There
We started from Skalnaté pleso, where we came shortly before midnight and spent a night there in our sleeping bags.Route Description
The route starts by Skalnaté pleso, from where you follow the route through Skalnatá dolinka directly beneath rocky steps of Lievikový kotol. During our trip the whole step was covered by a thin layer of ice and snow, so conditions were very unstable and took us several hours just to cross this rock step leading to Lievikový kotol and then to Cmiter. There are very few places where you can place any stable protection.After climbing this step we turned in the direction of the couloir falling from Kežmarská štrbina, narrow saddle between Východná Vidlová veža and Kežmarský štít. We crossed Cmiter and started our climb through this couloir. Again conditions were very unstable and there is almost no chance for a good protection. Climbing ice-axes were necessity here. After reaching the saddle turn right and follow the ridge to the summit of Kežmarský štít. Descent mas made in total darkness, therefore we decided to follow the ridge to Horná Kežmarská štrbina and from here we continued to Huncovské sedlo. From Huncovské sedlo we descended to Huncovská kotlinka and from there we followed marked route from Veľká Svišťovka back to Skalnaté pleso and then we used ski slopes as the shortest route to Tatranská Lomnica.