Eagle Ridge, Poland : Trip Report
Jun 28, 2014 17:10:26 GMT
Radchenister, bandit3, and 5 more like this
Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2014 17:10:26 GMT
Finally back to normality after a great trip to Poland. I promised to post up the piccies on return so here goes...
The trip began with Steve pulling Phil's shorts down just before boarding which produced quite a few laughs from fellow passengers
On arrival in Krakow, we caught a bus to the city and hopped on a bus to Zakopane. The journey lasted 2 hrs 30 mins and we headed straight to the cable car station to find out when the last cable car departed to the top of Kasprowy Wierch. Turned out the last one left at 18:20 hrs which left us ample time to get a decent meal down us before departure. We had planned to catch the first cable car in the morning but this was the last service for a few weeks due to maintenance. The change of plan gave us the opportunity to bivvy on the peak at 6,500 metres.
Our bivvy site underneath the cable car station.
The buildings up there are the highest in Poland which was reflected in a temperature of 3 deg C at bedtime. We took a couple of beers up to keep us company but only managed one each before we got turned in. We had been up since 2:30am that morning and considering we were planning an early start at 4:30am the following day we opted for a sensible approach.
Setting off. It was 5:30am by the time we had got organised.
There was still a fair bit of snow knocking about
Heading up to the Orla Perc (Eagle's Path)
The snow gullies provided a bit of difficulty.
The snow had buried the chains but someone had left a bit of thin line to hold onto as we descended. One slip and we would be off like a rocket
It was Phil's first time up here and he admitted that he was finding it a bit scarey
Steve had told him that the ridge was like Striding Edge in the Lake District. When Phil mentioned that on the way up I told him it was nothing like it. He quickly came to realise who had given him the bum steer.
It was at this point we pointed out to Phil we had to edge along a tricky crack that ran up along a cliff face which is pictured above. "Crikey. The chains aren't there anymore, Steve" I said. "We'll be okay, Dave", Steve replied chuckling away. After a bit more winding up, Phil lost it big time. "I'm not doing that..!! I've got a wife and kid's back home..!! I'm going back..!! (despite the fact that we had overcome quite a few tricky sections) We reassured Phil that we would look after him and not to worry too much. He wasn't convinced as we navigated to the start of the crack and Steve made his way a few feet along. The look of fear on Phil's face was a treat and even better when we cracked up laughing when he realised we were winding him up.
I went off for a number two which took quite a while. On return I slung the rucksack on and we continued our journey unknown to me the lads had filled my rucksack with rocks. I found them when we stopped for lunch a few hours later. About half a dozen of the blighters..!!
Another snow gully but this time no rope or chain. Further down there was a patch a rock so it was just as well we didn't slip.
A bit of a climb up this face was helped by chains and ladder rungs
Steve's up there somewhere
The ridge ahead
The ridge needed constant ascent and descent to travel along it.
Our mountain hut for the night was on the lakeside to the left which made for a massive drop once we had completed Orla Perc. Our knees took a right pounding on the way down.
The drop off pictured from the opposite site of the valley. The path can be seen to the left of the largest line of snow
It took over 11 hours to get along the ridge and down to the hut. Cream crackering.
The trip began with Steve pulling Phil's shorts down just before boarding which produced quite a few laughs from fellow passengers
On arrival in Krakow, we caught a bus to the city and hopped on a bus to Zakopane. The journey lasted 2 hrs 30 mins and we headed straight to the cable car station to find out when the last cable car departed to the top of Kasprowy Wierch. Turned out the last one left at 18:20 hrs which left us ample time to get a decent meal down us before departure. We had planned to catch the first cable car in the morning but this was the last service for a few weeks due to maintenance. The change of plan gave us the opportunity to bivvy on the peak at 6,500 metres.
Our bivvy site underneath the cable car station.
The buildings up there are the highest in Poland which was reflected in a temperature of 3 deg C at bedtime. We took a couple of beers up to keep us company but only managed one each before we got turned in. We had been up since 2:30am that morning and considering we were planning an early start at 4:30am the following day we opted for a sensible approach.
Setting off. It was 5:30am by the time we had got organised.
There was still a fair bit of snow knocking about
Heading up to the Orla Perc (Eagle's Path)
The snow gullies provided a bit of difficulty.
The snow had buried the chains but someone had left a bit of thin line to hold onto as we descended. One slip and we would be off like a rocket
It was Phil's first time up here and he admitted that he was finding it a bit scarey
Steve had told him that the ridge was like Striding Edge in the Lake District. When Phil mentioned that on the way up I told him it was nothing like it. He quickly came to realise who had given him the bum steer.
It was at this point we pointed out to Phil we had to edge along a tricky crack that ran up along a cliff face which is pictured above. "Crikey. The chains aren't there anymore, Steve" I said. "We'll be okay, Dave", Steve replied chuckling away. After a bit more winding up, Phil lost it big time. "I'm not doing that..!! I've got a wife and kid's back home..!! I'm going back..!! (despite the fact that we had overcome quite a few tricky sections) We reassured Phil that we would look after him and not to worry too much. He wasn't convinced as we navigated to the start of the crack and Steve made his way a few feet along. The look of fear on Phil's face was a treat and even better when we cracked up laughing when he realised we were winding him up.
I went off for a number two which took quite a while. On return I slung the rucksack on and we continued our journey unknown to me the lads had filled my rucksack with rocks. I found them when we stopped for lunch a few hours later. About half a dozen of the blighters..!!
Another snow gully but this time no rope or chain. Further down there was a patch a rock so it was just as well we didn't slip.
A bit of a climb up this face was helped by chains and ladder rungs
Steve's up there somewhere
The ridge ahead
The ridge needed constant ascent and descent to travel along it.
Our mountain hut for the night was on the lakeside to the left which made for a massive drop once we had completed Orla Perc. Our knees took a right pounding on the way down.
The drop off pictured from the opposite site of the valley. The path can be seen to the left of the largest line of snow
It took over 11 hours to get along the ridge and down to the hut. Cream crackering.