For decades, Ľadový štít has delighted and inspired subsequent generations of artists, naturalists, and Tatra climbers. There is no shortage of those willing to acquaint themselves with its majesty, which is why, despite being located off any marked tourist trail, the mountain is a popular excursion destination. I thought about realizing the dream of Ľadový on a certain autumn Friday, right after passing an exam that was important to me. For does there exist a better form of reward than an expedition to such a beautiful mountain? All forecasts predicted perfect weather for Saturday, so… there are no excuses, we must go! A great adventure calls!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Ľadový štít – general information
- From Tatranská Lesná to Dolina Piatich spišských plies
- Ascent to Ľadový štít via Ľadový kôň
- Ľadový hrebeň and Ľadova kopa
- Ľadové sedlo – descent
- Excursion map
- Bibliography
Ľadový štít – general information
- Ľadový štít is 2 628 meters above sea level, which makes it the third highest peak of the Tatras and the entire Carpathians. The mountain is also one of the fourteen peaks included in the Great Crown of the Tatras.
- Ľadový štít is located entirely on the Slovak side of the Tatras and no marked tourist trail leads to it. This is significant because walking off-trail in the Slovak Tatras is theoretically forbidden and punished with fines by park rangers.
- Ľadový štít most likely owes its name to the long-lasting fields of ice and snow.
- The normal route to Ľadový štít leads through Ľadové rameno and through Ľadový kôň (in this case, we leave the trail in Dolina Piatich spišských plies, slightly above the Téryho chata mountain hut). The variant is easy to navigate and for the most part technically not difficult – only the passage of the famous Ľadový kôň is rated at difficulty I/II. This route will be described in this entry as the ascent variant.
- The second popular route to Ľadový štít leads from Ľadový sedlo through Ľadová kopa (I) and along the ridge from Ľadová kopa to Ľadový štít (II). This variant is much more exciting, but also much more difficult. In this entry, it will be described as the descent variant.
- In this entry, only the two easiest variants of the ascent to Ľadový štít will be described, but many more have of course been established. For example, Ľadový štít is also possible to conquer from the southern side, that is, from Javorová dolina. In this variant, we climb via Sobkov žľab, and the route is rated as II on the Tatra scale.
- Interestingly, it was precisely from the south in 1843 that Ľadový štít was reached by its first documented conquerors: the Irish mountaineer John Ball accompanied by Wilhelm Richter, three hunters from Jurgov, and one Pole whose name is unknown. The authors of the maiden ascent approached through Javorová dolina and then via Sobkov hrebeń. The first winter ascent, on the other hand, was made by professional soldier Theodor Wundt along with guide Jakob Horvay on December 28, 1891.
- And to end the introduction, one small historical curiosity! In 1938, Poles forced a correction of the state borders on Czechoslovakia, by virtue of which part of Cieszyn Silesia, Orava, and… a fragment of the High Tatras went to Poland. Ľadový štít then became a border peak and, at the same time, the highest peak of Poland. After World War II, it was decided to return to the former border from before the 1938 correction.
From Tatranská Lesná to Dolina Piatich spišských plies
Around 7:30, we arrive in the village of Tatranská Lesná in Slovakia (approximately 900 meters above sea level). We leave the car in a free parking bay at Cesta Slobody (coordinates: 49.1521625N, 20.2610000E). We choose the yellow tourist trail running along the roaring Studený potok stream. The walk is very satisfying because Studený potok valley in its autumn version presents itself simply gorgeously. Charm is added to this place by Dlhý vodopád, which we can look at more closely thanks to the observation platforms built here. Dlhý vodopád is actually a sequence of several cascades through which Studený potok falls in a narrow, stony bed. According to the legendary guide Józef Nyka, we owe this effect to the river cutting through stone moraines formed by glaciers that once slid down from the higher parts of the Tatras.
4 kilometers after leaving Tatranská Lesná, at an altitude of approximately 1250 meters above sea level, the yellow tourist trail ends. We continue along the blue route to check in just a few minutes later at Rainerova chata. The building looks inconspicuous, but it is worth devoting a moment of attention to it. It was built in 1865, which makes it the oldest preserved tourist shelter in the Tatras. Today, Rainerova chata no longer offers overnight stays, but a small buffet still operates there.
200 meters behind Rainerova chata, we enter the red trail, a fragment of the Tatranská magistrála. I would describe this section as a trail highway: evenly laid stones, a small slope, and plenty of people to bypass. A big plus is the beautiful view in a southern direction toward the lower parts of Veľká Studená dolina and Studenovodská dolina. From the bridge over the Malý Studený potok stream, one can admire the beautiful Obrovský vodopád.
Tatranská magistrála leads us to Zamkovského chata (1475 meters above sea level), where we take a short break to replenish energy supplies. Next, we walk along the green tourist trail toward the higher parts of Malá Studená dolina. At this stage, we are still following a carefully laid stone pavement. And around? Around it is simply gorgeous. The combination of mountain pine, autumn grass, the massive wall of Prostredný hrebeň, and a cloudless sky creates one of the most beautiful landscapes I have had the chance to see in the Tatras.
Two kilometers behind Zamkovského chata, we begin the first demanding ascent of today – the ascent to the glacial threshold on which Dolina Piatich spišských plies is situated. The trail at this stage becomes slightly narrower, which makes it a bit difficult for us to overtake the numerous tourists in this place. Step by step, wandering in zig-zags, we gain over 350 meters of altitude here. During the ascent, our attention is drawn to the famous Žltá stena, where some of the most difficult Tatra climbing routes are located.
At Téryho chata, we check in at 10:20. The building is located at an altitude of 2 015 meters above sea level, which makes it the highest-located year-round mountain hut in the entire Tatras. From in front of the hut, an incredible view stretches out over dozens of jagged peaks (including five giants from the Great Crown of the Tatras – Prostredný hrot, Lomnický štít, Pyšný štít, Baranie rohy, and of course Ľadový štít). And since it is Dolina Piatich spišských plies, we also have, of course, moraine lakes. Directly at the hut lie the Mailé, Prostredné, and Nižné ponds, and a bit higher Veľké and Zadné. In today’s weather, all this looks phenomenal, a real feast for the senses. I stand, I look, and the only thing I have in my head is a big “wow”. And we are not even that high yet…
Ascent to Ľadový štít via Ľadový kôň
The turn-off from the tourist trail onto the path leading to Ľadový štít is located literally half a kilometer from Téryho chata, right by Veľké spišské pleso. To tell the truth, we do not even have to look specifically for the junction: a clearly trodden path is perfectly visible from the trail. We make sure once more that no park ranger is lying in wait for us behind a stone and click! we begin the best part of today’s excursion.
Following a clear and cairn-marked path from the left side, we bypass Veľké spišské pleso and begin the ascent to the higher parts of Malá Studená dolina. For several hundred meters, we wander through not very steep, stony-grassy terrain. The path at moments becomes less clear, but thanks to the wonderful visibility, the direction of travel is quite obvious the whole time. It becomes slightly more difficult only when the variant chosen by us starts to pass directly through a large boulder field (or simply put: through a group of large, granite rocks). In such places, I try to maintain full concentration because the rocks frequently wobble, and one stupid step could end in an unpleasant injury.
After overcoming the boulder field, the terrain does not become much more friendly. We are now walking on a surface composed of a thousand small, loose pebbles (so something I used to call “pebble-ada”). Choosing the right direction is not too difficult because the path again becomes quite well visible. Navigation is also made easier by the fact that we are on a popular off-trail route and we see many people both in front of us and behind us.
Ascending on loose pebbles can be laborious and irritating, but generally does not cause us major problems. After several minutes, the path leads us to a characteristic place where one should go around the eastern wall of Ľadový štít falling into the valley and begin the actual ascent to the Ľadove rameno pass. At this moment, it is worth pausing and turning around for a while because Dolina Piatich spišských plies presents itself from above quite insanely.
The ascent to Ľadové rameno is the most physically demanding part of today’s excursion. On a distance of approximately 0,5 kilometers, there is about 300 meters of altitude difference to be made here. At this stage, there is no longer one right way – at least several trodden paths run up the slope. Each of them is, moreover, uncomfortable and requires maintaining full concentration. However, it is not about strictly climbing difficulties (according to Andrzej Marcisz we have 0+/I here), but rather about the necessity of moving on loose, uncertain ground that seems to escape from under the feet. The ascent did not belong to the most pleasant in my life, but there was also no tragedy – well, you have to be a bit more careful there and maintain particular caution while passing descending tourists.
At the Ľadové rameno pass (approximately 2 500 meters above sea level), we check in at 12:00, that is about an hour and a half after leaving Téryho chata. The short ridge section to Ľadový štít is already visible from here in all its glory. The ridge fragment turns out to be quite simple and we cover it much faster than could be assumed. Just 10 minutes after leaving Ľadové rameno, we are already at the most famous place of the whole route – at Ľadový kôň (2 585 meters above sea level, difficulty I/II). It is in fact a sectional narrowing of the ridge, whose name was taken from the most popular way to overcome it – astride. I will tell you honestly that I have a problem with describing this place. The internet is full of dramatic descriptions in which the passage through Ľadový kôń is drawn as a climbing achievement commensurate with the feats of Adam Ondra. For me, however, this famous ridge fragment turned out to be… quite ordinary. Well, a few careful movements and all the fuss is over. Martyna has similar feelings – she moreover packed herself onto Ľadový kôň first, and its overcoming took her less than a minute. I can imagine, however, that for people with a fear of heights, the massive abyss gaping on both sides of Ľadový kôň may be an impassable barrier.
The last fragments of the ridge ascent and we have it! At 12:30, ten minutes after leaving Ľadový kôň and two hours after leaving Téryho chata, we check in on Ľadový štít. There we also arrange for ourselves a deserved break, emptying our backpacks of all available treats. We have insane views today. In all its glory, we see, among others, Belianske Tatry to the north, Baranie rohy, Kežmarský štít, and Lomnický štít to the east, or also Gerlachovský štít glinting to the southwest.
Ľadový hrebeň and Ľadová kopa
On the peak of Ľadový, one does not feel at all that we are off-trail. Many people are passing through – they come both individually and in larger groups along with a guide. I do not have to add that even though we are in Slovakia, the overwhelming majority of tourists on the peak are our compatriots. When the people on the top become just a bit too many, we decide to set off on the return journey. Initially, we planned to descend the same way, that is through Ľadový kôň. On the peak, our decision, however, underwent a change. Ľadový hrebeń presents itself beautifully, despite the late hour (end of October) the rock is completely dry, and descending the pebbly slope to Dolina Piatich spišských plies does not seem excessively attractive to us.
The decision to cross via Ľadový hrebeň to Ľadová kopa turns out to be a bullseye. The route provides us with plenty of satisfaction and that ordinary mountain fun. According to the guide Andrzej Marcisz, the difficulties on the ridge reach grade II on the Tatra scale. And indeed, our climbing skills prove to be very helpful here several times. There are several sharp turrets and deceptive notches to pass, which requires maintaining full focus and skillful searching for (and finding) good handholds and footholds.
On one of the first exposed turrets, we are caught up by Michał, whom we met at the summit. He claims that the ridge gave him a bit of a scare on the way there and on the way back he would prefer to overcome it in our company. Sure, we have nothing against it! So now we stick together as a trio, carefully monitoring each other and, as far as necessary, instructing.
At Ľadová kopa (Malý Ľadový štít, 2 605 meters above sea level), we check in at 13:20, that is just 20 minutes after leaving Ľadový štít. We are in good spirits because the ridge crossing was an experience that was perhaps quite short, but very intense. Ľadový hrebeň is, moreover, the most difficult thing we have done in the Tatras so far. Martyna even says in the heat of the moment that this crossing is most likely the limit of what she could do without using protection.
The direction of the descent from Ľadova kopa toward Ľadove sedlo is shown to us by Michał. It turns out to be steep, rocky, and deceptive… well, our daily bread. In the lower part of the descent, however, the main challenge became once again small, loose pebbles. So we descend carefully, not wanting to twist something in the last meters of the off-trail escapade.
Ľadove sedlo – descent
We reach Ľadové sedlo (2 372 meters above sea level) at approximately 13:50. Ľadové sedlo separates Ľadová kopa from Široká veža and is the highest-located Tatra pass to which a marked tourist trail leads. Around it is quite dark: both Javorová dolina to the west and Ľadová dolinka to the east present themselves from this perspective as raw and somewhat overwhelming. So we stop on the pass only for a moment and set off on the return journey to Téryho chata.
From Ľadové sedlo, we descend in zig-zags through a scree-filled, loose gully, in places secured with chains. The terrain is steep, so we lose altitude quite efficiently. A small lake catches our eye – Modré pleso, the highest-located permanent lake in the entire Tatras (2 189 meters above sea level). 700 meters after leaving the pass, the green trail joins the yellow trail and descends to Dolina Piatich spišských plies. In this way, a quarter of an hour before 15:00, we reach Téryho chata back again. I order myself a deserved Kofola and drink it with pleasure outside, savoring the incredible view of the surrounding peaks. Martyna, on the other hand, takes mulled wine, which she had been talking about for a good several kilometers. Ah, what an exquisite day that was… What a beautiful mountain that was…
At more or less 15:30, we say goodbye to Michał, who remains at Téryho chata. We, however, set off on the return journey to Tatranská Lesná by the same route as we came here. We check in at the parking bay by Cesta Slobody at approximately 17:30. The entire mountain action thus lasted slightly over 10 hours, which, let us not hide it, we strongly feel in our legs.
The expedition to Ľadový štít was one of our most beautiful (if not the most beautiful) Tatra excursions. Everything was perfect today: weather, route, views, company… Once again, it was confirmed that when one has mountains at hand, nothing else is needed for happiness.
Date of the excursion: October 26, 2024
Excursion statistics: 24,5 kilometers, 1850 meters of altitude difference
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Excursion map
Bibliography
- Marcisz Andrzej, Wielka Korona Tatr, Wydawnictwo Bezdroża, Edition II, 2021
- Nyka Józef, Nyczanka Monika, Tatry Słowackie, Wydawnictwo Trawers, Edition XII, Latchorzew 2022.
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