Category Archives: Hiking and Mountaineering

Small hiking and mountaineering tours in Europe.

Ascent to Rysy (High Tatras)

Description

Hiking tour from Lysá Poľana (970 meters AMSL) to Rysy (2499 meters AMSL) via Schroniska PTTK Morskie Oko.

Rysy is the highest mountain in Poland.

Descent to Štrbské Pleso (1355 meters AMSL) via Chata pod Rysmi by crossing the border to Slovakia.

Photos

Map, Topography

Notes and recommendations

Crampons and an Ice Axe are mandatory equipment items in wintry conditions.

Also checking the avalanche reports in advance is very … read more

The Günther-Messner-Steig in South Tyrol

Introduction

Günther Messner was a twenty-four year old mountaineer from Villnöß, South Tyrol (Südtirol), who perished in the Himalaya mountain range more than five decades ago.

He was a younger brother of Reinhold Messner, who himself had been involved in the events leading to his brother’s disappearance at the merciless Nanga Parba mountain in June 1970.

In the 2000s, human remains of Günther Messner were discovered at the … read more

Západné Tatry: Žiarska chata, Baníkov

Introduction

The Západné Tatry (Western Tatras) mountain range in Slovakia has slipped my attention as a destination for hiking and mountaineering tours until quite recently.

Visitors not only tend to confuse the western part of the High Tatras (where the famous peaks Kriváň and Rysy are located) with this mountain range, but the Western Tatras also get vastly overshadowed by the popularity of its eastern counterpart.

It took me some … read more