Kežmarský štít

Kežmarský štít (Polish Kieżmarski Szczyt, German Kesmarker Spitze) is a 2556 m granite summit in the Slovak High Tatras and one of the highest peaks of the whole range. It rises above Tatranské Matliare and Tatranská Lomnica, about 16 km north-west of the town of Kežmarok, within the town of Vysoké Tatry in Poprad District of the Prešov Region. It is part of the Polish list known as the Great Crown of the Tatras.

Kežmarský štít is the highest point of the north-eastern spur of Lomnický štít, to which it is linked by the Vidlový hrebeň ridge. At the summit the ridge splits: one arm runs south-east via the Huncovské sedlo saddle to Huncovský štít (2352 m), the other north to Malý Kežmarský štít (2514 m). The faces of the mountain tower above the Medená kotlina cirque and the Kežmarská Biela voda valley to the north, the Huncovská kotlinka to the east and the Skalnatá dolina valley with Skalnaté pleso to the south.

How to get there / routes

There is no marked hiking trail to the summit. Kežmarský štít lies within national nature reserves of the Tatra National Park (TANAP), so ordinary hikers may climb it only with a licensed mountain guide (horský vodca); only climbers go on their own, under the park rules.

• The normal route leads from Skalnaté pleso to Huncovské sedlo and then up the north-east slope to the top – mostly on a path, but with sections of easy scrambling.
• Other options start from the Kežmarská štrbina notch, from the saddle below Svišťovka via Malý Kežmarský štít, or from the Huncovská kotlinka.
• The approach is much shortened by the cable cars from Tatranská Lomnica to Skalnaté pleso and on to Lomnické sedlo. The nearest marked trail is the red one from Skalnaté pleso via Veľká Svišťovka to the chalet at Zelené pleso.

What you can see from the top

The rocky summit offers an all-round view: the neighbouring High Tatra peaks, the ridge of the Belianske Tatras and, in good visibility, the Low Tatras, the Orava Beskids, the Levoča Hills and the Slovak Ore Mountains, Branisko, Čergov and many summits of southern Poland. To the west the higher Lomnický štít partly blocks the view.

Nature and history

The massif is built of granite. Its roughly 550 m south face, dropping into the Skalnatá dolina, is considered one of the finest in the High Tatras and carries many hard climbing routes. The north-west face falls more than 500 m into the Medená kotlina.

The peak is named after the town of Kežmarok, whose land it once belonged to. The first described ascent of a Tatra summit is linked to it: in June 1615 David Frölich, a grammar-school student from Kežmarok, climbed the mountain with two friends and described it in his work Medulla geographiae practicae (1639). In 1654 Daniel Speer followed the same route. In the 18th century ore was prospected on the northern slopes. The first winter ascent was made by Günter Oskar Dyhrenfurth and Alfred Martin on 8 March 1906, and on 8 May 1988 Vlado Tatarka made the first ski descent of the west face – still regarded as one of the hardest in the Tatras.

Safety, season and rules

This is high-mountain rocky terrain: loose stone, snow until late spring and quickly changing weather. From 1 November to 31 May TANAP closes its high-mountain trails above the tree line for the season. Remember that there are no markings to the summit and that non-climbers may not go up without a guide. In the Slovak mountains help comes from the Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Interesting facts

• In old times Lomnický štít was called the "Grandfather" and Kežmarský štít the "Mother" or "Grandmother".
• Locals long mixed up the names of Kežmarský and Huncovský štít, until the village land boundaries were redrawn in 1863.

Photos: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Kristo, CC BY-SA 3.0; Krzysztof Dudzik-Górnicki (User:ToSter), CC BY 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Antimuonium, CC BY-SA 4.0; M. Betley, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.