Grześ

Grześ (Slovak Lúčna) is a 1,653 m double-topped mountain in the Western Tatras on the Polish–Slovak border, west of the Chochołowska glade. Both the state border and the Great European Watershed between the Baltic and Black Sea basins run along its ridge. The Polish slopes belong to the village of Witów (Kościelisko municipality, Tatra County), the Slovak ones to Zuberec and Vitanová in the Tvrdošín district. Both sides of the mountain lie in the Tatra National Park — the Polish TPN and the Slovak TANAP. Grześ is the most easily accessible summit around the Chochołowska valley, so it is often a goal in itself or climbed on the way to Wołowiec.

Getting there / trails

• yellow — from the PTTK hut on the Chochołowska glade (Polish side): about 1 h 30 min up and 1 h down;
• blue — along the border ridge via Rakoń to Wołowiec: about 1 h 45 min (1 h 30 min back);
• green (Slovak side) — from Zverovka via the saddle below Osobitá and Kasne to a junction just below the summit (from the Osobitá saddle about 2 h, down 1 h 50 min), then on to the Zadná Látaná valley (30 min down, 1 h up).

Times are from Polish Wikipedia. Slovak Wikipedia and OpenStreetMap also show a blue route from Oravice via the Bobrovecké sedlo, but according to Polish Wikipedia TANAP closed the Slovak blue section to the Bobrowiecka pass in June 2008 — check the current TANAP map before you go.

What you can see from the top

From the grassy summit clearings with dwarf pine there is an all-round panorama of the Western Tatras, especially beautiful in autumn, when the slopes turn russet with rush, bilberry clumps go red and mat-grass turns yellow. On the slopes of Trzydniowiański Wierch you can see white quartzite rocks known as the "Geese", and to the south the Roháče, which resemble the High Tatras. According to Slovak Wikipedia, the Orava Magura, the Orava Beskids and the foothills of southern Poland are also visible; neighbouring summits include Bobrovec, Osobitá, Salatín, Baníkov, Wołowiec, Rakoń and Kominiarski Wierch.

Nature and history

Grześ is a junction of three ridges and three spurs. The southern ridge rises via the Łuczniańska pass (1,602 m) and Długi Upłaz to Rakoń, the long north-western ridge runs to Osobitá and on to the edge of the Tatras, and the north-eastern one drops via Kruźlik and Czoło to the deep Bobrowiecka pass (1,356 m). The massif rises above three valleys: Bobrowiecka, Látaná and Chochołowska. The mountain is built of hard Triassic quartzite sandstones; higher up towards Wołowiec they give way to crystalline rocks. The summit areas are gently rounded, grassy and overgrown with dwarf pine, and a small seasonal pond lies between the two tops. Black crowberry grows on the summit.

According to the Great Tatra Encyclopedia, the Polish name comes from the highlander word "grześ" — a ridge with slopes falling steeply on both sides. Polish highlanders once called the mountain Kończysty, Slovak ones Lúčna or Končistá; the Slovak name comes from the small Lúčna glade, where a shepherds' hut stood in 1615. Old maps call it Hruby, and the name Grześ only appeared on maps in 1934. The slopes used to be grazed: the Polish side belonged to the Chochołowska pasture and is owned by the Forest Community of the Eight Villages, the Slovak side to a separate pasture of Trstená and Dlhá Lúka. In winter skiers descend from Grześ — a ski run existed before the Second World War and was reopened in 1956. The wooden cross on the summit was erected in 1992 in memory of secret meetings of Polish and Czechoslovak dissidents.

Safety, season and rules

The trails to Grześ are easy and have no chains, but this is already high mountain terrain: strong wind, fog and quick weather changes on the open ridge, and in winter the slopes, especially towards Wołowiec, can be avalanche-prone. In the Polish Tatra National Park entry is charged and hiking is allowed only on marked trails. On the Slovak side TANAP closes high-mountain trails every year from 1 November until late spring — check which sections are open. Rescue: on the Polish side TOPR (985 or +48 601 100 300), on the Slovak side HZS (18 300, +421 18 300); the general emergency number is 112.

Interesting facts

• The Great European Watershed between the Baltic and Black Seas runs over the summit.
• The name Grześ only appeared on maps in 1934; earlier the mountain was called Hruby.
• The summit cross commemorates secret meetings of Polish and Czechoslovak dissidents.

Photos: Jerzy opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Cybularny, CC0; Zorro2212, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Opioła Jerzy, CC BY 2.5; Paweł Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.