The summer. Trekking in the beautiful Tatra Mountains of Poland. Climbing the highest peak. Sounds easy enough.
It looked good on the map. A healthy long walk to the base, passing through some wonderful forest and coming out at Lake Morskie Oko, reputed to be the most beautiful lake in all Poland.
The alarm was set for 6am; it was like a dawn raid. The mountain hut, Schroniskow Dolina Roztoki, was set in a damp dewy pine forest, the smell was lovely to wake up to. A quick kit check, (we had a team of 11, 9 Scouts, two leaders) then it was off, up the track, fifteen minutes of steep up hill to get the legs warmed up, the long road up to Morskie Oko. This was a trudge, about an hour and a half and all before breakfast. The mountain hut provided us with breakfast and the lake, mountains and deer the most stunning back drop you could ask for to enjoy this meal of eggs, sausage and hot chocolate.
"Mist and cloud made the day seem moody, but nothing would dampen our spirits and determination to climb the highest mountain that Poland has"
Mist and cloud made the day seem moody, but nothing would dampen our spirits and determination to climb the highest mountain that Poland has. The next leg of the trek was round the edge of the lake, followed by a short steep climb to the second lake Czamy Staw pod Rysami. Around this lake and there it was. A sign to the summit of Rysy. 3.5 hours up and up and up. We had a 1000m climb in what looked like about 2 km of walking. This was going to be steep and tough. The lads were looking grim, but determined as we hit the track and started to wind out way up into the majestic mountains.
The path was well marked, with red and white stripes painted on the boulder strewn shoulders of the mountain. Even though we had enough maps and compasses to open an outdoor shop, we weren’t going to get lost. We wound our way up, startling marmots, looking out across the lakes to deer grazing for their breakfast and seeing birds flitting around the scrub until we reached the tree line and climbed above it. The mountain still held pockets of snow, holding onto the pristine whiteness of winter and longing again to be covered.
The path crossed the scree, went round massive boulders and went up, steeply. Then we came to the chains. Luckily we were expecting these, and there are about 8 or nine to conquer on the way to the summit. The chains are like a fixed rope to help you scramble up some of the steeper and narrower sections of the mountains. They were cold and wet, so it was on with the gloves and also on with the waterproof jackets as this was going to be a lot slower and we needed to keep the warmth in. Slowly we edged our way up the first set of chains, adrenaline pumping, minding the light waterfall that the route followed.
Up and up we went, now into the cloud, shrouded in the mists of the mountains, giving us a false sense of safety. It is like an infant pulling their security blanket around them. The views disappeared, we couldn’t see the lakes, and we couldn’t see the top of any of the mountains. This was amazing trekking. There is just something about the mountains when they are in the clouds, when they are not letting you see the views or see the sun. You know that you are totally in the mercy of their whims and you must be prepared for it.
As we ascended the temperature was dropping, and time was slowly tracking out progress. Lunch was needed to give us the energy to reach the top, a few more sets of chains away. We found a sheltered spot and hunkered down to bread and cheese and sausage, a staple Polish mountain lunch. The few alpine flowers clinging onto survival at this altitude were covered in ice and warnings were issued to be very careful in case the rocks were icy. Luckily none of them were, they had absorbed enough warmth to keep our path damp but ice free. We continued up the next set of chains, ever closer to the summit and we popped out onto the ridge that would lead us to the top.
We stopped for a rest and to re group, Trevor went to examine the next part of the route along the ridge line. There was the last chain. The chain that would end our summit bid. The chain was to help you along a knife edge with a very steep drop off to both sides. The decision was taken that this lump on the ridge would be our summit. Then started a light hail just to confirm our decision to make this the summit for Phoenix Explorer Scouts was the right one.
We tucked into some chocolate and nuts, had a drink, cheered ourselves for reaching this high on the awesome Mount Rysy, but only meters form the summit. A few photo’s later and it was time to head down. It was a good descent. The chains helped us on our way, and getting out of the cloud cover gave us some great views into the valley and across the two lakes of Morskie Oko. Upon reaching the lake, it was time to go back into the mountain hut and toast our success with hot chocolate and Scharlotka, a delicious Polish Apple Cake.
What a day. This has to be one of the best trekking days I’ve had. The mountain was rugged, the chains helped you up but cooled you down, the summit of Rysy was just there shrouded in clouds being kept secret, enticing you back for another attempt at exploring its rugged north face.
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