Zadný Gerlach

Zadný Gerlach (officially Zadný Gerlachovský štít, “Rear Gerlach”; Polish Zadni Gerlach) is a mighty 2,616 m junction summit on the main ridge of the High Tatras (2,617 m according to 2018 laser scanning). It is the northernmost part of the massif of Gerlachovský štít — the highest mountain of the whole Carpathians — from which it is separated by the deeply cut Gerlachovské (Tetmajer) saddle. German sources rank it as the sixth highest peak of Slovakia and the Carpathians. For a long time it was considered the highest summit of the Tatra main ridge, but newer measurements place it after Ľadový štít. The peak lies in the Tatra National Park (TANAP) above the Velická, Batizovská and Kačacia valleys; the nearest settlements are Štrbské Pleso, Smokovec and Štôla.

How to get there / routes

No marked hiking trail leads to the summit — an ascent is possible only with a licensed mountain guide or for members of mountaineering associations. The easiest line starts at the Sliezsky dom mountain hotel in the Velická valley. Zadný Gerlach is often climbed together with Gerlachovský štít, though it is worth a trip of its own: according to a Hungarian description, its view is even finer than from the main summit, because it rises right above the junction of three valleys. Classic lines: via the Gerlachovské saddle (UIAA II, 1895), the “Martinovka” along the ridge from Poľský hrebeň (II, 1905), and from the Batizovské saddle bypassing the towers (II–III, 1911).

What you can see from the summit

The summit stands where the Velická, Batizovská and Kačacia valleys meet, so the view takes in the High Tatra main ridge from Gerlach to Ľadový štít, the deep Biela voda valleys to the north and the Sub-Tatra basin to the south.

Nature and history

The massif has three tops: the highest southern one, the middle Lavínový štít and the northern Gerlachovská kopa (Lavínová veža). To the west the ridge drops to the Eastern Batizovské saddle, beyond which stand several towers, the finest being the twin-topped Biskupská čiapka (“Bishop’s Mitre”). The northern ridge, with many teeth and notches, runs to Litvorové sedlo, while a massive ridge carrying Gerlach branches south-east from the main summit.

For a long time the mountain had no name — maps labelled it “Unbenannt” or “Névtelen” (“Nameless”). After the death of the geologist Samuel Roth in 1889, the Hungarian Carpathian Society, of which he had been vice-chairman, proposed naming it after him; after the First World War the Club of Czechoslovak Tourists suggested Slovenský štít (“Slovak Peak”), but the name Zadný Gerlach prevailed — after the village of Gerlachov, which once owned the massif. According to Polish sources, until the late 18th century, when the border still ran along the main ridge, Zadný Gerlach was the highest peak of Poland.

In October 1944 a Lisunov Li-2 military aircraft carrying soldiers of the 2nd Czechoslovak Parachute Brigade, flying to support the Slovak National Uprising, crashed below the Gerlachovské saddle on the Batizovská side; its wreckage still lies there.

Safety, season and rules

TANAP high-mountain trails are closed from 1 November to 31 May, and off-trail terrain may be entered only with a mountain guide or as a member of a mountaineering club. Rocky terrain, snow in the gullies until summer and sudden storms demand experience and equipment. Slovak Mountain Rescue (HZS): 18 300 (+421 18 300); emergency number 112. Park rules: tanap.sk.

Interesting facts

• The first precisely dated ascent was made by Janusz Chmielowski and guide Jędrzej Wala Jr on 24 August 1895; the first winter ascent by Gyula Hefty and Gyula Komarnicki on 9 February 1913.
• The summit’s isolation is only about 290 m — that is how close its higher neighbour, Gerlach, stands.

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