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| Furkotskı štít   | 
| Page Type: Album Image Type(s): Hiking, Informational, Scenery, Panorama, Water | Page By: Tomas Kristofory Created/Edited: Jan 9, 2007 / Apr 30, 2008 Object ID: 258451 Hits: 896 Loading... Page Score: 89.13% - 13 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Overview
Furkotskı štít (svk) - Furkot (pl) - Rauschbachspitze (Furkotaspitze) (ger) - Furkota-csúcs (hun)
!!!UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!
This album will be deleted as soon as I complete the page about the mountain Furkotskı štít (2405 m) in the High Tatras range in Slovakia in central Europe. If you´ve got any photo related to that mountain, feel free to add it here. I will add them to the mountain page, too. Building of the page will long a couple of weeks.
Origin of the name
Furkotskı štít is the very culmination of the valley Furkotská dolina. However, there is one higher peak above this valley - Veľké Solisko (2414 m) in the Solisko ridge. These two has one common root of word: furkotsk- (furkoc). This slovak word does mean "to lollop", "to pronk", "to jump". The name is of the folk literature from past centuries. By this word it is meant, that the creek is lolloping, jumping slowly while flowing down the valley. The creek has the name Furkotský potok, too. However, the true is that the valley lacks major waterfalls.
Location
Furkotská dolina is one of shorter south oriented valleys in the High Tatras national park. And when speaking about water, there is one interesting thing about water here. Furkotskı štít itself, as well as the ridge of Solisko is the part of the main european water divide: valley to the east of it (Mlynická dolina) collects water through Mlynický potok to the river Poprad and further to the Northern sea, while Furkotská dolina collects water which finally flows into the Black sea. Furkotský štít is looming also above the third valley named Nefcerka. Nefcerka supports the Black sea with its waters. There are two higher peaks above the valley: Hrubý vrch (2428 m) and Kriváň (2495 m). Beyond Veľké Solisko and Hrubý vrch there is third peak higher than Furkotský štít above Mlynická valley - Satan (2432 m).
Why is Furkotský štít attractive and for whom?
While Furkotský štít is not the highest in the neighbourhood, it is important because of its location above three valleys. It is neither attractive for climbers, the toughest route to it is of grade II UIAA (from valley Nefcerka). What is perfect about Furkotský štít is the view from the top. It's been visited by queues of hikers because it is easily accessible. Its slopes and especially the one into the Furkotská valley is often skialpinist terrain right down from the summit. Furkotský štít and its neighbourhood is also in the centre of the attention of nature conservers and scientists. The slope from Mlynická include one chute highly exposed to erosion, because it is made of mylonite geological unit lying among granite blocks that are less exposed to erosion. Problems here are - orientation of uncaring hikers that go away from trail marks an follow the chute for their ascent. The other problem is connected with this one: damaging of scarce mountain flora. You can see, the peak is a scarce resource and there are different visions of the use of the peak and it is usual that the use of scarce resources is a very attractive object of legislative regulations. You can believe me, in this light it is very attractive summit.
First ascend
Its first known ascenders were K. Tetmajer and T. Żeleński, with Polish guides in summer sometime between 1889-1893. Earlier chamois hunters, before 1880 guides from Zakopane and military mappers have been on the peak.
First winter ascenders were Emil Baur, Alfred Martin and Hans Schäfer on 4th january 1906 from the saddle Bystré sedlo.
Red tapeIllegal summit
You must remember that you are in the High Tatras national park. I wrote, that the peak is the object of attraction of legislative regulations. Attraction to legislative regulations seldom goes without the attraction for regulated activities. For example, according to the local legislature it is currently illegal to ascend the summit without UIAA certified mountain guide, provided (1) no official hiking trail leads to the summit - this exclude access for non-climbers and (2) that the toughest route is only of IInd UIAA grade - and the local regulation says climbers can follow routes only of at least IIIrd grade UIAA. If you know human's nature, you don't need to guess who is interested in such a state of affairs. Nobody of lobbying groups has such strong word among as official mountain guides. To be honest, there is a possibility of non-hiring UIAA certified mountain guide and ascend the summit legally: you would have to be a scientist and go up there with signed admission of NP administrators. And to provide you challenge: explore new route of IIIrd grade in the NW wall of Furkotský štít and you will enjoy the summit legally and you will enable others not wanting to spend the money on mountain guide services here to access the summit legally, too.
The complete list of possibilities, how to ascend Furkotský štít legally:
(1) be an UIAA certified mountain guide
(2) hire an UIAA certified mountain guide for 150 - 200 EUR
(3) be a scientist hired by NP administration
(4) explore and climb a route to Furkotský štít of at least IIIrd grafe UIAA. Theoretical possibility of exploring such a route is from the valley Nefcerka. However, regulation says, climbing in Nefcerka is forbidden as a whole in Nefcerka. Regulation says literally that from reason of nature conservation is among forbidden "the area of Kriváň with all adjacent ridges and valleys (Nefcerka, Kotliny, Skaredy zlab, Za handel, Sucha voda); the NE border is the ridge Hrube and the East border is the ridge Furkotské veže and Kozí chrbát (this restriction is not applicable to Rameno Kriváňa accessible from the valley Nefcerka during 21 December - 20 March starting from the climbing wall". This probably forbids exploring of the IIIrd grade route from valley Nefcerka. But there is hollow in this restriction. It is written that the north border of forbidden area is the ridge of Hrubý vrch and eastern border is created by Furkotské veže and Kozí chrbát. There is a gap between Hrubý vrch and Furkotské saddle (2277 m) to the west of Furkotskı štít. Furkotskı štít lies in this gap. This is the easternmost part of Nefcerka and whole this forbidden area! Why isn't it stated as the part of east border of this forbidden area? Let's put down these speculations. I think ascend of Furkotskı štít from Nefcerka is not excluded from the regulation. Check the map in the red tape section of High Tatras page.
(5) you may organize mountain sport or cultural activity (for example ski-alpinist race), but you need the official written allowance from NP administration. The chance to get such an allowment is negligible. However, there has been one such skialpinist race nearby from Predné Solisko both to Furkotská valley and Mlynická valley
(6) If it is winter (legal winter is from 21st december till 20th march), you may also ascend route of grades I or II, on condition this is used for metodical exercise.
One another possibility is in descend:
(7) be a climber descending from Hrubý vrch. The rule of at least IIIrd grade UIAA goes for ascends. In descend it is allowed to use routes of I and II grades, on condition it is needed to descend such a route. There are some routes of grade I from valleys Mlynická dolina and Furkotská dolina and Ist grade adjanced ridges what may be used for this purpose and also may be used for possibility (6) from 21st december till 20th march.
I guess less than 5% of ascends of the summit are legal and there are thousands of ascends yearly. Mountain guides may sometimes ascend it (alone or with climber friends) and also scientists from NP administration. Nobody ascended legally via possibilities (4) and (5) and at maximum hardly anybody ascended via possibility (2). Hardly anybody is ascending thanks to possibility (6). I never heard about climbers climbing solely Furkotský štít, though there must have been at least some ascends, mostly before the regulation got valid. Possibility (7) has been used by some dozens of climbers when attempting one of the most respectful Tatras' challenge: climbing of the whole High Tatras main ridge (more precisely Krivánska rázsocha variant of the main ridge) in winter, without descends from the ridge and without support from valleys. Some climbers climbing north wall of Hrubý vrch may also descend via Furkotský štít, what allow them faster way back to the civilisation than descending of the out-of-the-way lying north wall of Hrubý vrch.
It's quite complicated regulation, isn't it?
Other forbidden activities
It is not only that local regulations forbade also skialpinism and all other winter activities in the neighbourhood. You can neither spend the night up there. Sleeping outside chalets (nearest one is just 2 h. 15 min. away from the summit in Furkotská valley) or official camps in the mountains is allowed (1) only for climbers, (2) on approach to or on the route of at least IIIrd grade UIAA, (3) only in emergency cases (struck in bad weather or caught on the route by the night), (4) only for duration of such emergency case. As there is no IIIrd grade route on Furkotský štít, you cannot legally build the tent up there. Again, if you are the lucky man and you are chosen for a ranger or if you are scientist hired by NP administration, you can spend the night up there. In any case, if you spend the night in mountains to act legally you must leave the tent at dawn, no later and take everything with you, including garbage.
Ascended despite regulations
Laws are being broken on Furkotský štít probably also right at this moment. The truth is, that mountain guides are not interested in this mountain. Why on earth wouldn't they fight for being the only to provide the access to the summit? I wrote in upper section that the summit is often visited and attractive for hikers. Yes, that's the exact truth, but still, nobody of those hikers or climbers ascend the mountain with a mountain guide. Isn't it confusing? It isn't, if you know the local relations between different groups of people and if you understand a bit of economics (yes, I'm an economist). That are two reasons of the fact that nobody ascends with a mountain guide: (1) Mountain guides know there is no demand for their services among hikers. They earn from 150 EUR to 200 EUR (1 EUR = 33.5 SKK) and such a service is in Slovakia considered to be a luxury and if you like to spend your money hiring mountain guide, you will go for more attractive peaks like Gerlachovský štít, Vysoká, Lomnický štít, Bradavica, Ganek, Ľadový štít, Satan, Pyšný štít, Končistá or Kežmarský štít. (2) The second reason is, that there is ruling non-written rule of breaking the law after 40 years of communism in our country. One proverb say "Who doesn't steal, he steals from his family." The respect before the law is still very low, 19 years after the fall of the Berlin wall. In High Tatras national park the breaking-of-law rule is enforced by the fact, that until 1970s you were allowed to go nearly anywhere in the national park via unofficial trails. People remained used to go for these trails. And one of those trails led to the summit of Furkotský štít and continued to the summit of Hrubý vrch. Most of those unofficial trails are still showed in maps, especially those polish. There are some rangers protecting and enforcing keeping of law. There is negligible probability you will meet them here and everybody knows that there will be no protector of rules here. You will rather meet ranger when attempting one of "mountains reserved for mountain guides and their clients" like Gerlachovský štít. However, especially in winter months, you will be quite likely stopped by a ranger or two at the entrance of Mlynická or Furkotská valley or at the chalet below Solisko or at the legally and easily accessible summit of Predné Solisko.
Lobbyists never sleep
You can see, this summit is a scarce resource. I've written above, that the summit is the object of attraction. The above written may look like the opposite. From the above written you may imply that everybody's happy about this state of affairs. However, lobbyists never sleap. Under current government, heads of all NP administrations of national parks in Slovakia were removed and replaced by people with pro-climbing and pro-hiking orientation. There is strong iniciative to make the still unofficial trail the summits of Furkotský štít and Hrubý vrch part of the network of official hiking trails. The sound argument behind this is better keeping of the rule of law. And while nature reservation is always questionable, such a change may even help nature. There is one official hiking trail crossing the south ridge of Furkotský štít just 15 minutes below the summit - at the Bystré sedlo saddle. The terrain in the neighbourhood of the saddle is very complicated and many fake routes are around. Partly because from both slopes of the saddle there leads footpaths to the summit of Furkotský štít and partly because of the mylonite chute I've written about higher. If there is one perfectly marked and managed trail, under the supervisor's eye of rangers, it will be much better both for people and nature. One good thing about NP administration is, that in the try of nature protection and interest of discouraging some people from breaking the law they redirected the trail from former direction, when the trail led through the problematic chute to the place in the ridge just 5 minutes away from the summit. The last part of the ridge is easy walk-up, to the difference from the access to the summit from Bystré sedlo is quite complicated and farther away. Let's see what future brings to us. I was twice at the summit and twice ended the trip in the Bystré saddle, highest point of the new official hiking trail.
MapsLook for the maps listed in maps section of the High Tatras range page. Two specific maps are shown here, one of which include current direction of marked hiking trail directly to Bystré saddle (2334 m) and the other one, with names of all towers and saddles, include old marked trail through Furkotské sedlo and Bystrý priechod (2370 m) just dozens of meters away from the summit. As is written above, trail was redirected due to nature conservation and better keeping of law. Formerly many people went to Furkotskı štít from Bystrý priechod, despite it was forbidden. Summit was easily accessible from there and part of the trail led through erosion-exposed chute, what led to accidents (I'm wittness of one accident which ended with broken arm and helicopter rescue) and damaging of scarce flora.
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| Map with the new, redirected trail. |
Perfect climbing map with old direction of the trail. |
External linksSome photo albums:
A summer trip
360 degrees wonderful autumn panorama from the summit
Skialpinism above Mlynická valley Images
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