Second Hungarian climber in fifteen years completes solo climb of Tatra Mountains' main ridge

Mountaineer Gergő Lantos successfully completed a solo trek along the 75-kilometer-long main ridge of the High Tatras between August 27 and September 1 – magas-tatra.info has reported.

According to Lantos, the rubber soles of his boots started peeling off on the fourth day, so a pair of replacement boots had to be brought up to him to Váha pass. He got lost several times over the course of the five days, (e.g., on the south face of Ostrý štít and on the descent from Malý Ganek), but neither of these situations was critical.

Due to the brittle rocks and the numerous exposed sections of the ridge, he had to remain focused for six days straight, typically climbing from half past four in the morning until half past seven in the evening. The skin on his fingers had become completely worn from the climbing. He said that the Tatras showed their most beautiful side throughout his trip: luckily, with the exception of the night before the first day, the weather was good the whole time.

Crossing the entire length of the main ridge of the Tatra Mountains is considered a major mountaineering feat. Nothing demonstrates this better than the fact that, to date, Péter Kiss was the only person to have successfully completed the traverse completely alone in 2011 (the young Hungarian climber died on Kanchenjunga two years later). The route involves climbing a total of 169 peaks of varying height, each with its own name, covering a total elevation gain of 12,000 meters.

Hungarian mountaineering literature records a total of 35 attempts of Hungarians attempting to traverse this ridge, of which two solo climbs were successful (those completed by Péter Kiss and now Gergő Lantos). The first successful Hungarian team ridge climb was completed in 1971 by János Kisvári and Ákos Neidenbach, while the first team to successfully traverse the ridges of the Tatra Mountains in winter did so in 1983. Its members were Péter Dékány, Zoltán Fodor, and László Vörös.

According to the Hóhatár-Mozgásvilág Facebook page, the main ridge of the High Tatras mostly consists of easy sections, rated I–II, with a few more difficult stretches. The climb's difficulty stems from the continuous physical exertion, the elevation gain, and the discomfort, which can wear down one's motivation and enthusiasm.