Tomáš Matera‘s ski touring test in Tatras
24. 11. 2017
After 10 months I took my winter equipment out of the wardrobe, set out with a bunch of climbers and ski alpinists to the „Brnčalka“ chalet in the High Tatras.
For a while we thought about skis, but taking them with us was the best decision. On Friday morning we used climbing skins and walked through Dolina Bielej vody, one of the largest valleys in Tatras, to the chalet. We sorted out accommodation and then for a while we set out to boulder with ice axes on the Měděný led.
Overnight the powder snow amounted to 20 cm, so the next morning we set out around Červené pleso (Red Tarn) to Jastrabia veža (2137 m) near Zelené pleso (Green Tarn). Zelené pleso is a tarn in the High Tatras mountains located in the glacier basin at Kačacia dolina (Duck valley) in Slovakia. We overcame the top through the normal pathway and then we skied down from the saddle below Jastrabia veža to the chalet.
Sunday was about pure ski alpinism. We climbed up Flaška trough to Baranie sedlo (2384 m) and then back down. Snow fell overnight, so we could enjoy a great long downhill on half a meter of powder snow. These were the best skiing conditions I've ever experienced in the Tatras.
We finished the whole trip with an excellent burger in Tatranská Lomnica :)
Throughout the weekend, Jackyl and Hastar technical jackets and Lazzaro trousers took a battering. These clothes are lightweight, waterproof and greatly ventilated. You will appreciate a lot of their useful details just in the mountains. This technical outfit meets the highest parameters and I highly recommend it for skialps and winter mountains.
Tomas Matera (Kilpi Racing Team) and a bunch of climbers.
Photo by Tomáš Blažek, Ondra Hráček, Aneta Nováková