W Face of Rysy in October

W Face of Rysy in October

Niżne Rysy (left), Rysy (centre: Poland's highest) and Vysoká (right, in Slovakia) - October. The Polish marked trail leads to the summit of Rysy up the rib just left of that slanting couloir.
yatsek
on Dec 29, 2008 12:59 pm
Image Type(s): Hiking
Image ID: 475212

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Tomek Lodowy

Tomek Lodowy - Dec 29, 2008 3:06 pm - Voted 10/10

Tatra classics

Is it really east face ? ;)

Szczesliwego Nowego Roku !

Tomek

yatsek

yatsek - Dec 29, 2008 5:40 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Tatra classics

Thanks a lot, Tomek - no, it's old age/overwork:)
Do siego roku!
-Jacek

yatsek

yatsek - Mar 2, 2009 6:29 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Highpoint of Poland

I have. So has Wiktoria. (The Slovak trail is much gentler.) In the old days, the hikers and the border police played a kind of "volley plaque" game: the police would fix a metal plate on the summit (to commemorate Lenin) and the hikers would unscrew it and have it drop half a mile down the slope:)

wdimpfl

wdimpfl - Jan 1, 2018 2:58 pm - Voted 9/10

Trail?

Does it require a rope?

yatsek

yatsek - Jan 1, 2018 5:58 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Trail?

It's a chain-assisted scramble, kind of YDS class 3, done by lots of tourists under summer conditions. Hardly anybody hires a guide, but falls are often fatal so guides have their clients wear a via ferrata set. In autumn winter gear is usually needed: Please see this video.

wdimpfl

wdimpfl - Jan 2, 2018 1:05 am - Voted 9/10

Re: Trail?

Thank you. I watched the video. In America it is uncommon to have chains in place to assist ascents. In Yosemite there are a few places where there are steel railings where paths have been hewn out of the rock. I am familiar with fixed ropes and railings anchored to the rock in the French alps. But in America it is very unusual. I believe guided climbs are becoming more common, but it was uncommon during the era when I was most active. It gave a pioneering sense to the adventure. It was generally a surprise to find a piton in place on a route.

yatsek

yatsek - Jan 2, 2018 4:17 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Trail?

You are welcome. As far as I know, such chain-assisted trails are rather rare in Europe too (unlike via ferratas proper), but they are typical of the Tatras. What this particular route looks like in summer you can see here.

wdimpfl

wdimpfl - Jan 3, 2018 12:35 am - Voted 9/10

Re: Trail?

That reminds me of the popular "Cable Route" on Half Dome in Yosemite: A challenging hike to do in a day. I've descended that twice, after doing the classic "Snake Dike" route on the SW face. During the summer there are stanchions supporting the cables. By the time I did the climb in the fall the stanchions and boards had be taken down for the winter. There are a number of Youtube videos. Here is one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEpjUqU_GbQ

The last time I descended it was in a snow storm and we were the only ones on the dome.

yatsek

yatsek - Jan 3, 2018 12:35 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Trail?

After watching the video and browsing through a couple of pages about the Half Dome hike, I'd say both trails do seem similar in many ways except that an experienced scrambler can climb the Polish Rysy trail without using the chains (under favourable conditions) whereas it would be rather difficult for one to ascend Half Dome without the cables or rock climbing gear, wouldn't it?

wdimpfl

wdimpfl - Jan 3, 2018 6:59 pm - Voted 9/10

Re: Trail?

You are right. While almost anyone can climb the cables it would be suicide to climb the 45 deg slope without them or some kind of protection. There are also warnings to not climb if there are clouds over the dome as a number of people have been struck by lightening.

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