Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Czarny

Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Czarny (Slovak: Východný Mengusovský štít, "Eastern Mengusovce Peak") is a High Tatra summit of about 2,405 m on the main Tatra ridge along the Polish–Slovak border. It is the easternmost of the three Mięguszowiecki peaks and the fourth-highest mountain in Poland. It rises above two major valleys: on the Polish side the Rybi Potok valley with the lakes Morskie Oko and Czarny Staw pod Rysami, on the Slovak side the Mengusovská dolina with its upper level, the Hincova dolina. The Polish name refers to Czarny Staw (Black Lake) — the mountain was once called Mięguszowiecki Szczyt nad Czarnym (Stawem) — while all the Mięguszowiecki peaks are named after the village of Mengusovce.

The Mięguszowiecka Przełęcz pod Chłopkiem pass (2,307 m), named after the small rock tower Chłopek on the south-west ridge, separates it from Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Pośredni; the Czarnostawiańska Przełęcz (about 2,340 m) separates it from Hińczowa Turnia, the end of the Wołowy Grzbiet. Guidebooks give different heights: Witold Henryk Paryski 2,404 m in his climbing guide and 2,410 m in the Great Tatra Encyclopedia, Arno Puškáš 2,398 m. LiDAR surveys in 2012 and 2018 measured 2,405 m.

How to get there / trails

There is no marked trail to the summit itself. The easiest ascent starts from the Mięguszowiecka Przełęcz pod Chłopkiem, reached by a marked green trail from Czarny Staw pod Rysami. The trail crosses the north face of the peak on a rock ledge called the Galeryjka. From the pass two unmarked variants lead to the summit: bypassing the ridge on the Hincova side (grade 0+ on the Tatra scale, about 30 min) or along the north-west ridge (II, 30 min). Slovak sources call it the most accessible of the three Mengusovské peaks, but on the Slovak side it may be climbed only with a mountain guide.

The faces of the peak are a popular climbing venue: dozens of routes from 0+ to V+, some with aid, run up the north, north-east, east and south-west faces.

The view from the top

A rocky summit at the very heart of the High Tatras. Close by stand the neighbouring Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Pośredni and Wielki, the Wołowy Grzbiet, Rysy, Wysoka and Gerlach, and below lie the cirques above Morskie Oko and the Hincova valley.

Structure of the mountain

The north-east rib, about 500 m long and some 700 m high, divides several glacial cirques — Bańdzioch and Wyżni Bańdzioch on one side and the Wyżni Czarnostawiański Kocioł on the other. A few dozen metres below the summit the rib forks, and its right arm ends in the Kazalnica Mięguszowiecka, one of the main climbing objectives of the Polish Tatras. The right part of the north face, 380 m high, drops to Bańdzioch; the east face is about 320 m high, and the south-west face, about 250 m, falls to the screes of the Hincova valley and is split by the Żleb Zaremby gully.

Nature and history

On the northern slopes the lower limit of the subnival belt drops almost to the saddle behind the Kazalnica. Lime-loving plants grow here alongside species of granite soils — a rarity in the High Tatras. For this reason, in July 1923 the summit was studied by the 5th International Phytogeographic Excursion led by Bogumił Pawłowski, who wrote that the flora of Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Czarny is one of the richest on the high Tatra summits, thanks to strong rock weathering and abundant moisture on the slopes. More than 70 species of flowering plants grow on its rocks, including two very rare ones: Tatra scurvygrass (Cochlearia tatrae, at 2,200–2,390 m) and Saxifraga retusa.

The first recorded summer ascent was made by Antonina Englisch and her son Karol with the guide Johann Hunsdorfer senior on 9 August 1903 from the Czarnostawiańska Przełęcz; the first winter ascent by Mieczysław Lerski and Jerzy Maślanka on 22 March 1910. Polish mountain guides, however, were already leading people here in the second half of the 19th century, probably before 1877. One Slovak route was first climbed in 1966 during a Mountain Rescue Service search for missing people.

Safety, season and rules

This is a summit for experienced people: even the easiest way from the pass is unmarked, on rock and scree, and the green trail to the pass is itself steep high-mountain terrain. In the Tatra National Park (TPN) hikers may walk only on marked trails; leaving them is mountaineering, so without experience go with a licensed mountain guide. In winter and spring avalanche danger is high, and in summer thunderstorms are frequent — start early.

Rescue on the Polish side is TOPR: 985 or +48 601 100 300; on the Slovak side HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300); 112 works everywhere.

Photos: Krzysztof Dudzik-Górnicki (User:ToSter), CC BY 3.0; Adam Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Foto: Adam Opioła, opis: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Krzysztof Dudzik-Górnicki (User:ToSter), CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Adam Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Adam Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.