Page Type: | Route |
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Lat/Lon: | 49.18772°N / 20.05522°E |
Route Type: | Hiking, Mountaineering, Scrambling |
Season: | Summer, Fall |
Time Required: | Half a day |
Difficulty: | YDS Class 3 |
This route leads from Morskie Oko, via Dolina za Mnichem (literally the Valley beyond the Monk) at about 1800m to Hińczowa Przełęcz/Hincovo sedlo - a saddle at 2323m. From Dolina za Mnichem the route is not marked with paint but has little cairns. The first half of the route is used as an approach route by most of the rock climbers who climb Mnich. The whole route is part of a descent / relatively easy ascent of Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Wielki/Veľký Mengusovský štít or Cubryna/Čubrina. Route ProfileApprox. time up: Morskie Oko Hut to Dolina za Mnichem 1h + Dolina za Mnichem to Hińczowa Pass 2h 20min = 3h 20min Net elevation gain: 913m
Total elevation gain: approx. 1,000m
Rock difficulty: Polish grade 0+ / YDS class 3
! Crumbly last stretch (the couloir)
When to ClimbThe best time to do this route is when there is no snow in the Hińczowy Couloir which drops from Hińczowa/Hincovo Pass. Such conditions are the most likely from August to September. Snow tends to linger on Mała Galeria Cubryńska as well as in the couloir, and the route can be impassable/too dangerous without an ice axe and crampons in early July and sometimes later too. In winter and spring the route - especially Mała Galeria - is extremely dangerous because of avalanches. The steep passage between Mała Galeria and Wielka Galeria is also very dangerous, so it is not advisable to do this route in those seasons. |
To find out how to get to Morskie Oko, please see the parent page.
From the hut take the yellow trail that leads, above the western shore of the beautiful tarn, to Szpiglasowa Pass. In less than an hour you will be at the mouth of Dolina za Mnichem, where you turn left to follow the red marks (which lead to the pass called Wrota Chałubińskiego, i.e. Chałubiński's Gate), but only for several metres.
Now on your left begins an unmarked path (not very clear at the very start) that heads for the south foot of Mnich. Follow this path to a kind of terrace called Mnichowe Plecy (Monk's Back), owing to its location behind Mnich.
When you are on Mnichowe Plecy, turn right and walk in the direction opposite to Mnich, i.e. to the south, towards the knoll of Mnichowa Kopa and impressive Zadni Mnich (Rear Monk).
Having traversed the summit of Mnichowa Kopa on the left, you get a spectacular view of the northeast face of Zadni Mnich.
Then the path skirts the upper end of Żleb pod Mnichem (Couloir under the Monk) to sharply descend 80m (YDS class 3, exposure) onto a slanting terrace below and above the cliffs of Cubryna,
known as Mała Galeria Cubryńska (Cubryna's Little Gallery).
From here you have an excellent view of the southeast face of Mnich.
The path traverses the gallery and at its other end enters a little, oblique chute. Walk up the chute for a few metres to soon traverse left towards the exposed edge of this passage, where the path shows again. The path will take you up to a vast gallery, much bigger than Mała Galeria Cubryńska, not surprisingly named Wielka (Great) Galeria Cubryńska.
Traverse the Great Gallery, following cairns, towards the outlet of the great couloir (Hińczowy Żleb) that drops from the pass between the massifs of Cubryna and Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Wielki, i.e. Hińczowa Przełęcz/Hincovo sedlo.
Cross the outlet of the couloir and keep on following cairns, ascending the left-hand (eastern) side of the crumbly couloir most of the way (lots of scree) and finally via its bottom.
Hińczowa Przełęcz/Hincovo sedlo offers a picturesque view of the tarns to its south, i.e. Hincove plesá.
From the pass you can reach the summit of Cubryna/Čubrina (2376m) in about 20 minutes and Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Wielki/Veľký Mengusovský štít (2438m) in 1-1.5hrs.
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Summer conditions: Normal hiking gear should suffice as long as there is no snow in the couloir, which can be filled with old snow throughout the summer.
Winter conditions (according to dynercia, yatsek would avoid the route in winter): crampons, ice axe, rope, a few ice screws and loops.
As for the analog maps of the Tatras, there are plenty of options. I would recommend the plastic 1:25,000 map of the Polish and Slovak Tatras by WiT. It has a large scale, is waterproof, durable and cheap. |
In spring and early summer the route gets closed for climbers as falcons nest in the walls of Cubryna.
For more about the national park rules see the parent page.
Photo TR by R. Szadkowski, Tatra guide. The party chose our route for the first part of their ascent of Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Wielki/Veľký Mengusovský štit.