Mozgasvilag and Magas-Tatra magazines have reported two recent fatalities in the Tatras, part of Eastern Europe’s Carpathian Mountains.
The tragedies remind us how errors, poor preparation, and lack of appropriate equipment can be fatal even an 2,000m.
According to journalist Arpad Nagy, a young Polish woman died when she slipped during her descent from 2,159m Zawrat Pass, in southern Poland.
Tatra Mountains. Photo: Piotr J.
On June 12, in the Zawratowy Gully that leads to Zawrat Pass, a young Polish woman slipped on the hard snow as she was coming down from her hike. She fell 400m meters and died on impact. She was not wearing crampons or carrying an ice axe.
Her partner sounded the alarm. A rescue helicopter found her body. No further details are available.
A solo Polish mountaineer also fell to his death from a ridge above Slovakia’s Batizovska Valley, in the central part of the High Tatras. On the night of June 12, a Polish man reported that his brother was missing. The man had wanted to climb the ridge above the valley. Early the next morning, a rescue helicopter likewise found the deceased man, who had fallen several hundred meters.
Authorities warn that the high Tatras, especially on the north faces, still have a lot of snow. Suitable ice and snow gear is necessary, and inexperienced hikers should avoid venturing onto hazardous slopes.
