The Tatra Mountains in winter: Why is your ‘easy summer trail’ now a deadly trap?

Imagine this: in August, you hiked up Czerwone Wierchy in shorts. It was warm, spacious and safe. You think to yourself, “Great route, I’ll do it again in December!” You get off the bus in Kuźnice, and there… it’s a whole different world.

Winter in the Tatras is brutally unforgiving. The mountains don’t just become “a bit more difficult”. They become completely different mountains. That’s why your favourite summer trail suddenly changes status to “for experts only”.

1. The paths disappear. Everything disappears.

In summer, you have a comfortable, stone-paved path (like the famous Ceprostrada on Szpiglasowy Wierch). In winter? There is no trail. There are two metres of snow, under which the stones, chains and crampons have vanished.

• If no one has gone before you (there is no ‘trodden’ trail), you have to forge a path through waist-deep snow. It’s an effort that will leave you breathless for the first 100 metres.
• On the ridges (such as Kopa Kondracka), the wind creates snow overhangs. It looks like a solid mountain edge, but underneath there is nothing but emptiness. Take one step too far and you’ll be swept away along with the breaking snow.

2. Crampons vs Ice Axes (The Great Misunderstanding)

The internet is bursting at the seams with posts asking ‘Where can I get crampons?’.

• Crampons (the ones with rubber and chains, costing 100 zł) are great for Kościeliska Valley, the route to Morskie Oko or the ascent to Sarnia Skała. Where it’s relatively flat but slippery.
• But if you’re heading higher… On Giewont, on Świnica or on Rysy, crampons are a death trap. Rubber can crack in the cold, and the small spikes won’t ‘bite’ into hard, icy snow (so-called ‘concrete’). If you slip down a steep slope in crampons, you have no way of stopping. Here you need professional crampons and an ice axe. And most importantly – you must know how to use them. An ice axe strapped to your rucksack is just for show, not for safety.

3. Avalanches don’t ask about experience

“It’s just a gentle slope; there aren’t any avalanches here,” thinks the hiker. Wrong. Most avalanche accidents occur on slopes with a gradient of around 30 degrees. To the human eye, this isn’t a “vertical wall”; it’s just a nice little hill.

• Popular, “easy” trails, which are like motorways in summer (e.g. the ascent to Hala Gąsienicowa via Jaworzynka or Świstówka Roztocka to Morskie Oko), intersect with avalanche paths in winter.
• That’s why we hike differently in winter! Some summer trails are closed (e.g. near the Siklawa Waterfall), and in their place, TOPR marks out (with poles) safer winter alternatives.

4. The day ends at 3.30 pm

In summer, you can set off at 10.00 am, spend two hours at the summit and return at 8.00 pm whilst it’s still light. In winter, by 3.30 pm the sun has disappeared behind the mountains, and by 4.00 pm it’s ‘polar night’. The temperature drops from -5°C to -15°C in half an hour. Winter trips must be planned down to the minute, and a head torch (and spare batteries) is your most essential piece of kit.

So where’s a safe place to start your winter adventure?

You don’t have to rush straight up Rysy with an ice axe. Want to get a taste of winter and enjoy some fantastic views?

1. For beginners (with crampons): Rusinowa Polana, Nosal. You’ll see a sea of snow and return safely.
2. For the more ambitious (with crampons): Grześ. This is a peak which (when the avalanche risk is low) ‘forgives’ mistakes and is a great place to test your kit.

The Tatra Mountains are the most beautiful in the world in winter, but you must treat them with a hundred times more respect than in summer.