Żabi Szczyt Wyżni

Żabi Szczyt Wyżni (Slovak Vyšný Žabí štít, German Große Froschspitze) is a summit about 2,263 m high in the High Tatras on the border between Poland and Slovakia. It stands on the northern branch of Rysy — the Żabia Grań (Frog Ridge), which separates the Slovak Bielovodská valley from the Polish Rybi Potok valley. It is a junction peak: right next to it on the Żabia Grań lies the Wyżnia Spadowa Przełączka notch (about 2,235 m), described by Polish Wikipedia as the only junction pass in the Tatras.

In a wider sense the massif is bounded by three passes: Ciężka Przełączka (towards Niżnie Rysy), Białczańska Przełęcz Wyżnia (towards Żabi Mnich) and Młynarzowa Przełęcz (towards the Młynarz massif). Defined this way, the massif is the highest part of the Frog Ridge and rises above three valleys: the Czarny Staw cirque in the Rybi Potok valley to the west, the Dolina Żabich Stawów Białczańskich to the north and the small Dolinka Spadowa to the south-east. In Slovak it is often inaccurately called "Veľký Žabí štít" — which is also the name used in OpenStreetMap.

How to get there / trails

No marked hiking trail leads to the summit. The easiest climbing routes are relatively simple, but they are still off-trail, so without climbing experience the summit is only accessible with a licensed mountain guide; on the Slovak side the peak lies in a nature reserve and can only be climbed with a guide. The nearest marked trails run through the Rybi Potok valley: an asphalt road leads from the car park at Palenica Białczańska to Morskie Oko (8.5 km, closed to private cars), and from there the red trail to Rysy passes Czarny Staw pod Rysami — the massif of Żabi Szczyt Wyżni towers above the Czarny Staw cirque.

The most important climbing routes ran up the north face, up to 500 m high, which drops into the Slovak valley of the Frog Lakes; the routes start higher up and are about 250 m long (grades III to VI on the Tatra scale). Today this face lies in a strict protection zone closed to hikers and climbers.

What you can see from the summit

The view from the top is largely blocked by Niżnie Rysy, although it is wider than from other summits of the Frog Ridge. According to Slovak Wikipedia you can see the nearby valleys and surrounding High Tatra peaks, part of the Belianske Tatras ridge and the foothills on the Polish side. The massif is set back a little to the east, so it cannot be seen from Morskie Oko; from the Frog Lakes valley the summit appears as a rocky pyramid, while from around Czarny Staw it looks unimpressive.

Nature and history

Like many other features of the Frog Ridge, the name comes from "Żabie", the old name for the whole area east of the Rybi Potok including the Dolina Żabich Stawów Białczańskich. Below the north face lie the Upper and Lower Bielovodské Žabie plesá, drained by the Žabí potok into the Białka (Biela voda) in the Dunajec basin. The Frog Lakes valley is a reserve with the highest level of protection, and the boundary of the climbing ban zone runs across the summit.

The first recorded ascent was made on 26 July 1905 by Janusz Chmielowski, Károly Jordán, Adam Kroebl, Stanisław Krygowski and Tadeusz Łopuszański with the guides Jakub and Klemens Bachleda, Jan Karpiel, Jędrzej Marusarz and Jan Stopka. The first winter ascent took place on 14 April 1930 (Stefan Bernadzikiewicz, Zbigniew Gieysztor, Antoni Kenar and Wiesław Stanisławski). In winter 1959 three climbers died on the north face when an avalanche swept them down to the lake.

Safety, season and rules

The summit lies in two national parks — Poland's TPN and Slovakia's TANAP — and on the Slovak side also in the Bielovodská dolina national nature reserve. TPN charges an entry fee, and leaving marked trails is permitted only for climbing in designated areas (the Morskie Oko area covers the ridges from the Białczańska pass via Rysy to Wrota Chałubińskiego); every climb must be registered in the climbers' log book or online on the park's website. The north face in Slovakia is completely closed. TANAP's high-mountain marked trails are closed from 1 November to 31 May.

The slopes around the Rybi Potok valley are prone to avalanches in winter. On the Polish side help comes from TOPR: 985 or +48 601 100 300; on the Slovak side from HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300). The general emergency number is 112.

Photos: Rafik k, CC BY-SA 4.0; Adam Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Adam Opioła, Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Kristo, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.