Czerwone Wierchy

The massif of Czerwone Wierchy is made up of three summits at about 2,100m each - Krzesanica at 2,122m, Małołączniak and Ciemniak at 2,096m each - plus an easternmost outlier named Kopa Kondracka at 2,005m. The name Czerwony Wierch (singular) was originally used for Małołączniak whereas today Czerwone Wierchy (plural) is the name of the four-summit massif between the Dolina Kościeliska in the west and Tomanowa Przełęcz/Tomanovské sedlo (1686m) in the southwest, and two passes north and east of Kopa Kondracka in the east. All the red in the toponyms here, albeit indirectly, is connected with the rock type. But this time the colour does not indicate the usual suspect, the rusty iron compounds, despite iron ore having been mined in the sides of the massif a couple of centuries ago. On the limestone and dolomite rocks that form the bulk of the Red Peaks lies a granitoid, acidic cap of Małołączniak, which yields poor soil, only good enough for some hardy grasses, such as highland rush and the endemic Oreochloa disticha, which turn red easily and early, already in July. Except for the granitoid patch the massif is full of caves, including the largest cave system in the Tatras.

Krzesanica

Krzesanica (Polish) Kresanica (Slovak) Vésett-kő  (Hungarian) In mid-C19 in Poland known as Zadni Upłaz   Elevation: 2122m Prominence: 323m

Krzesanica is the highest limestone summit within the territory of Poland. Its finest feature is its northwestern, vertical face which forms the headwall of the Mułowa Dolina. There are cliffs on its northeastern flank too, and southerly, into the Slovak territory, Krzesanica sends a craggy spur called Rozpadlý grúň, which looks fairly similar to the Czerwony Grzbiet of Małołączniak. To summit Krzesanica you have to climb either Małołączniak or Ciemniak first.

Małołączniak

Małołączniak (Polish) Malolúčniak (Slovak) Kis-réti-hegy (Hungarian) In mid-C19 in Poland known as Czerwony Wirch    Elevation: 2096m Prominence: 59m

Małołączniak sits just east of Krzesanica. The lateral ridge it sends to the northwest has kept its old name Czerwony Grzbiet (Red Ridge). The ridge slopes rather gently to the northwest for several hundred metres to suddenly drop, partly vertically a few hundred metres down. Of the cliffy walls Wielka Turnia (Great Crag) - 1847m high and approximately 350m tall - is especially impressive. Plunging into the Dolina Małej Łąki (Valley of Little Meadow) from the northeast edge of the Red Ridge, it offers fun winter climbing, unfortunately forbidden recently. Along the Red Ridge runs probably the most interesting of the trails that lead to the tops of Czerwone Wierchy, waymarked with blue stripes. This trail is my favourite route within the massif. It is less frequented than the other trails in the area and has extraordinary views, a decent couloir and chamois.

The Blue Trail

Distance: 7.5km     Time: 3.5h (up)     Elevation Gain: 1170m        Extra elevation gain on Małołączniak-Krzesanica-Ciemniak: total 110m (time: 0.5h)

Back down to bus stop/car park from Ciemniak/Małołączniak: 2.5h

Wlk. Świstówka from blue trail

Red Ridge from E

While in Zakopane, get on any of the frequently running minibuses heading for Dolina Kościeliska/Chochołowska and get off at the stop called Gronik. The trailhead is a couple of hundred metres back in the direction of Zakopane. If you come by car, you can park it right at the trailhead, which is at the mouth of the Valley of Mała Łąka (Little Meadow). The trail leads rather gently up the stream until after about 20 minutes you get to the junction with the yellow trail. Then a steeper part follows, which takes you to a broad pass named Przysłop Miętusi, where two trails intersect in the middle of a clearing. The place is watched over by the characteristic Eljaszowa Turnia (Eljasz's Crag). Przysłop Miętusi is a good spot to have a snack (two rest spots with a wooden table and benches: one in the middle picture above and the other at the edge of the forest) and admire a dramatic view of the north, craggy walls of Czerwone Wierchy. To the west, there is an interesting view of Kominiarski Wierch.

Having left Przysłop Miętusi the blue trail turns into a narrow path, which sticks to the eastern flank of the Miętusia Valley and runs more or less along the contour line of 1200m, through a spruce forest. It is now really hard to imagine but in the 19th century this part of the trail served the miners who excavated iron ore in the tunnels dug into the rock below your feet. The iron was then smelted where today the lower cable car station stands. An alternate name of our blue trail is the Miner Track... After three quarters of an hour our trail climbs up the slope a little, still less than a hundred metres, then again continues almost horizontally. Spectacular views open up towards the huge, glacially moulded steps of the Litworowa and Mułowa valleys, which form the headwall of the Miętusia Valley that is called Wielka Świstówka. All the three cirques are devoid of tarns as this is karst terrain.

But our trail, unfortunately, doesn't go up the steps leading to the cirques (that would be more than YDS class 4), but turns left to enter a wide couloir named Kobylarzowy Żleb (Kobylarz's Couloir), just like the rib and the crag on its left. There's lots of scree, some interesting flora in the early summer, and even about twenty metres of steel chain to secure your passage by the only point en route where it is impossible to proceed without using your hands. But for the chains, this steep and rather slick slab of limestone (approximately a dozen metres tall) would make for a Class 4 (YDS) climb. But the chains have converted this point into just a Class 3 problem. While walking above the upper end of the chains, be careful not to kick a stone on someone climbing down there.

Having hiked around 3 hours, you finally reach the gently sloping top of Czerwony Grzbiet (Red Ridge). Another nice place to have a little rest and an interesting view of the nearby Giewont across the Little Meadow Valley. On the other side of the ridge, several kilometres to the west, beyond the Polish-Slovak border rises the grand ridge of the so called Orawa Tatras, in Slovakia known as the Roháče.

The last - rather gentle although about 250m up anyway and a bit tiring - section of the trail will take you over the Red Ridge to the very summit of Małołączniak in less than half an hour. The summit offers an outstanding panorama of the Slovak High Tatras.

The uppermost stretch of the blue trail with the summit of Małołączniak

The High Tatras viewed from the summit of Małołączniak

The Chamois

An hour or two before sunset, when almost all hikers have gone, encounters with chamois are highly likely. (Once I was lucky to face a bold young buck that barred the trail, hissing at me and kicking the ground with his front hoof so that I wouldn't dare get closer to his two female companions.)

Ciemniak (Polish) Temniak (Slovak) Sötét-hegy (Hungarian) In mid-C19 in Poland known as Czerwony Wirch Upłaziański   Elevation: 2096m Prominence: 29m

Ciemniak is ascended by two trails from the Kościeliska Valley. The red trail begins around a mile from the mouth of the valley and runs up the northwest shoulder of Ciemniak. The green one leads up the valley as far as Ornak Hut, turns east along Tomanowy Creek, then - instead of reaching the nearby main ridge of the Tatras - turns north crossing the western slopes of Ciemniak to connect to the red trail about a kilometre from the summit. The winter photos below were taken by Ivona.

Kopa Kondracka

Kopa Kondracka (Polish) Kondratova kopa (Slovak) Konrád-púp (Hungarian) In mid-C19 in Poland known as Kondratowa   Elevation: 2096m Prominence: 81m

From the upper station of the cable car at Kasprowy Wierch, it takes less than two hours to hike (via red marks) to the summit of Kopa Kondracka via a pretty scenic part of the Tatras' main ridge. However, unless you go off season, trying to get a ticket can be difficult and time-consuming, or simply put a waste of time. Kopa Kondracka can also be climbed via Kondracka Pass. Such a hike is usually combined with an ascent of Giewont. Kondracka Pass is reached either through the scenic valley of Mała Łąka (yellow marks) or the Kondratowa Valley (blue marks, trailhead in Kuźnice at the base station of the cable car).