Where have you been?

For our first trip we decided to attempt one of the easier peaks; Giewont. This peak is visible from Zakopane and is known for the HUGE cross on it. The cross is 15m (~45feet) tall and acts like a giant lightning rod. Not a great place to be during a thunder storm.


Anyway, we started our trip up Dolina Małej Łąki, shown above. It was very peaceful and we only saw two other people. For two hours we had shade, a nice breeze, and a gentle slope. Then, with little warning, we started our assent to Kondracka Przełęcz. This took us up about 400m (~1200ft) pretty much straight up. It was like spending an hour on a Stair Master.


On the way up we were presented with many beautiful views of both the valley below and the surrounding peaks. This photo shows a nice view of Mała Turnia.


Once on Kondracka Przełęcz (see photos from the first Tatra post - the ones with the sign) it was a short walk to Giewont. Here is a view of the peak along with the huge cross. We were unfortunatley unable to make it to the top (acrophobia) but with some practice we are confident we will make it next time.


During lunch our heart rates returned to normal and we were able to enjoy the wonderful views from the "top". In this photos you can see both our route to the bottom as well as Mały Giewont, the smaller peak of the Giewont set. This route had two yellow hazard markers; the first was no problem but the second was a bit different. While standing on a ledge about 40cm (~7inches) wide above a sheer 30m (~90ft) drop, we waited for several people to climb down a 3m (~9ft) cliff. The climb itself was not difficult but waiting on the small ledge with the rather large drop below...


Before we made the journey down, however, we snapped a few photos including this one of the path down along with the surrounding peaks. We were lucky to have absolutely wonderful weather for our entire trip which allowed for such great photos.


Like the trip up the way down presented us with several wonderful views of the mountains. Here is a view looking back up at the Giewont peaks, Mała and otherwise. If you look close at the middle peak you can see the cross.

In all our first day took us about 7 hours. Three up, three down, and another hour fooling around eating and drinking water in between. We didn't actually make the peak but we did pretty well for our first time out. Check out this map to see our route which is shown in purple. Our apartment was around the word "Krzeptówki".