Ski traverse of the Tatra Mountains

Here’s the Freeride Academy team’s account of their four-day traverse of the Tatra Mountains. We hope it inspires you to take on winter challenges. And if you are just starting your adventure with skydiving, we recommend our series -> Skitouring – an A-Z guide.

In the heart of the Alps, overlooking Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn or Monte Rosa, is the Haute Route, a six-day traverse through glaciers and passes, leading from Chamonix to Zermatt. Before going there, however, it is worth trying a similar expedition in our backyard. The Tatras are slightly smaller mountains, but just as beautiful and challenging, with the added bonus of paying for beer in hostels in zlotys.

TRAIL of the Tatra Mountains is a hike relatively often chosen by tourists in summer and increasingly in winter. Importantly, we can go on it on skis, without violating the restrictive regulations of the Tatra National Park. The route can be covered in the direction from Morskie Oko to Chocholowska Valley or vice versa – regardless of the chosen variant, it is worth spending four days on it. We decide to go on a “reverse traverse”.

We set off in mid-March. On board a large social cross-section: from programmers, graphic designers, lovers of new technologies, through caterers and entrepreneurs, to architects. Not only real freeride soldiers, skiers, but also one very ambitious splitboarder.

Ski traverse of the Tatra Mountains (fot. Olek Pobikrowski)

Chocholowska Valley

Dilemmas about the number of pants to change and the choice of evening outfits took us more time than we anticipated, so we went to the mountain already under the cover of night. Fortunately, the long and arduous walk was cut short by a friendly technical transport from the hostel. Riding on the back of such a dinosaur as a UAZ 425 is an adventure in itself and the first opportunity for integration. First of all, however, this way we managed to make it in time for dinner before the kitchen closed. Chochol dessert (apple cider with berries and cream) and a small beer put us in the perfect mood to start the adventure.

1: To Hala Ornak

It was gray outside the window, but the evening light precipitation motivated everyone to get going. Breakfast, tea for the road, the obligatory group-check (checking the correct operation of the detectors) and we can descend to the entrance to the Starorobocinska Valley, the actual start of our expedition. As a warm-up, we chose a fairly short hike – along the yellow trail through Iwaniacka Pass to the Ornak Hall Hostel. The group turned out to be so strong and hungry for riding, that we unanimously decided to see if a fresh powder near the Dry Wierch Ornaczanski would not make our day any more pleasant. We were not wrong! Although poor visibility prevented us from reaching the summit itself, a few pleasant turns in the forest and on the clearing were definitely worth making up the distance. We reached the hostel at 15.00, but that’s good – the extra time for rest will come in handy before the next day and the most serious part of our route. The exceptionally designer standard of accommodation, unparalleled in other hostels in the Tatras, and mulled beer with juice further enhanced the conversations about our “great” plans.

Ski traverse of the Tatra Mountains (fot. Olek Pobikrowski)

2: Under the eye of a sleeping knight

We started early, with the first pounding of the frying pan in the hostel kitchen. After a hearty breakfast and replenishing our supplies, we leave the hostel. The weather this day is on our side, in the morning rays we descend the Koscieliska Valley to Cudakowa Glade, from where, in an exceptionally spring-like aura, with skis strapped to our backpacks, we set off on the red trail towards Czerwone Wierchy. At an altitude of about 1,000 meters we strap on our skis and continue walking on seals. It’s not easy: long ascents with hairpin turns and short descents on “concrete”, in places we have to put on harnesses. Fortunately, any pains are made up for by the beautiful views: on the left the western wall of Giewont, on the right Zadnie Kamienne in the Krakow Gorge. On Krzesanica we stop in the late afternoon, and this is only the halfway point. After a break at the Hostel on Hala Kondratowa, we split into two groups: “feeding the PKL budget” and “steel legs”, which attacks the Goryczkowa Hall. From Kasprowy we admire the sunset together. In the light of headlamps we descend to Murowaniec. Cold beer and delicious dumplings taste even better than usual.

Ski traverse of the Tatra Mountains (fot. Olek Pobikrowski)

3: Through Zawrat to Pięciu Stawów

Outside the window of Bethlehem a fresh rainfall of several centimeters, soreness in the muscles, on the feet the first corns. Slightly tired we set off in the direction of Czarny Staw Gąsienicowy, where the real Tatra “mountaineering” begins. We finally take out of our backpacks the crampons and check, which we have been lugging around for the last few days. The ascent of Zawrat is a classic in the High Tatras, but also a verification of skills. Despite a few moments of hesitation, we all put on the Pass according to plan. Now a changeover, a sip of warm tea and a leisurely drive along the blue trail to “Five,” the highest mountain hostel in Poland, where you can always count on the extraordinary hospitality of your hosts.

Ski traverse of the Tatra Mountains (fot. Olek Pobikrowski)

4: A moment of terror before the finish

Hospitality can be treacherous, and our group mastered relaxation techniques to perfection after these few days. Nevertheless, we are the first to check in for breakfast. The most scenic section of the route lies ahead. At full light we set off towards Szpiglasowa Pass. Later, a very pleasant, long traverse from the seal through Miedziane – at the end you have to fasten crampons. At the top, suddenly everything is shrouded in fog; it also turns out that the gully we are to descend is extremely icy. We decide to go downhill with a belay. In the end, it was not so terrible, and a slight boost in circulation allowed us to warm up before the fantastic descent towards Morskie Oko. There, a 15-cent tin was waiting for us, and Mięgus and Mnich took on an exceptionally wintry appearance to greet us.

Ski traverse of the Tatra Mountains (fot. Olek Pobikrowski)

We got it! Admittedly, we still have a “piste” ahead of us to the parking lot on Palenica Białczańska, but this is already a formality. We take a commemorative photo in front of the Moku Shelter and proudly sit down with a tomato soup. Tired but happy we admire on the map the route of the last days. In four days we covered 37 kilometers and 3,700 meters of elevation gain. Those who are pinched say that we drank all the beer in the hostels, but we take it as a compliment and unanimously declare a repeat – because the Tatra “Haute Route” is certainly worth it.

Freeride Academy was a group of guides, instructors and lovers of alpine skiing. In the mountains, in addition to delicious descents, safety comes first, so in the academy’s offer you will find not only foreign trips in search of the deepest powder, but also skydiving and lavine training and courses.

Ski traverse of the Tatra Mountains (photo. Olek Pobikrowski) Ski traverse of the Tatra Mountains (fot. Olek Pobikrowski) Ski traverse of the Tatra Mountains (photo. Olek Pobikrowski)