Low Tatras - crest, 22 - 23 Dec ´2007
One would say: a hectic prelude indicates even more pyretic developement, or that a febrile beginning signals a wholly peaceful end. How was that weekend in our case? After a multiple stalling over the event it finally took real contours. Having made several not much winter events we craved for a single one pure winter action. Not God could have anticipated that that one would be the winterest ever.
Read our experience and you may write to us once.
A big debate started on the right Friday connection to Strečno. At last, we agreed on a 9:40 bus. On our way as well as afterwards we waited for Jožko´s echo
from his work safety testing. At about 12 o´clock we sat in a local tawern at cards waiting on. After we had dismissed Anka we couldn´t get through to Jožko not
for god´s sake. All must have gone in accord with the fatal card (I do not know if Anka would have gone with us!) Things developed so that we started off without
the two. We went up a classic way to the Suchá chalet, first by the river Váh, through dry shrubs, along fucking muddy paths, later along a path below the old
caslte, finally up, about 100m of elevation in 17 minutes. An undemending 3 and a half hour walk through 25cm snow-cover at most. Still before twilight we
reached the chalet, right as Fero was notifying us of a back connection from Johnarray´s village. After some beers, coming of our only roommates, Jožko came
at dark. Wow, stunner, 3 and a half hour through the dark forest on his own.
The dawn came and the sky, temperature and the rising sun foretold an optimistic trend of that day. After another twenty minutes was everything even more optimistic.
At the time the first Little Fatras´ hill, Suchý, towered above us. We ascended on, the snow was mounting up, the sun shining. All was different when only trees´
tops stuck out of the snow. Krto and Pinťo went crazy shooting. We were convinced again that only "Mother" can create this. We stayed on the summit of Suchý for not
longer than a minute and went ahead with a sight of the nearest leg of the crest. A childish frisk, blissful smiles were in a jiff replaced by stares to the south-west. A kind of dark seemed determined to reach us.
I don´t know whether the following cohered with the blackness, in any case, all that had beyond-comprehension developement. We were in the saddle under Little
Kriváň, so after about one and a half hour of sinking into the soft snow-cover which had appeared the most serious impediment to us, when a east wind had
maximalized within seconds. After some minutes, the view of that Little looker fully disapppeared. All my fellows can confirm that the visibility dropped
to 6m at most, 2-3m mostly. The wind speed had gone up to 90-100 kph - we still could stagger on. Twenty minutes had gone by that we seemed totally smashed.
We should have been somewhere near Little Kriváň. Frozen through, we got out Krto´s PDA and found out that we were. Stated 4-hour pathway was left. If only...!
All that occured otherwise however. I concede thinking things overs atypically. I wanted us to survive which I don´t overstate!!! I suggested a retreat but it
was vetoed, though the further advance was definitely indefinite. We could go to the right as well as left, all seemed aimless. We lost all reason betweenwhiles,
and we asked one another Where to come...? in the deafening wind.
Our only hope was the very crest which only could lead us anywhere. We didn´t sense the avalanche threat any more, though we still considered the snow-overhangs,
we were passing by, very dangerous. "Krtoooooo" I shrieked and collared him already sliding down a precipice. This was serious! We couldn´t follow even the crest
brink under our own feet. Thoughts of the wind calming down didn´t bothered us any more. Every one thought of not to get frozen or do a misstep. The visibility
about 3-1m, the speed of the wind over 100kph. With the increase of fatigue, problems with hoofing it. We were amidst the crest what we didn´t guess at all.
To top it all, we were frightened of deviating to one of branch-crests and so losing any chance to get on the right track. The wind kept its velocity and it
even grew. After another past-hope moment we turned at right angle, I have to find out where it was. We were supposed to approach The Big Fatras Looker then.
Not only I was losing the last strength, and the wind reached its maximum speed which we reckoned to 130kph.
Then, I wasn´t able to hold Ivka on my own, and with Peťo we had enough. We began to climb up a steep slope, the wind hit us from the front-side.
Like said - the last nail into the coffin, and even this is a poor comparison. The more the road seemed foreseeable, the farther the destination seemed to be.
Our faces were cut deep by the midget ice and snow crystals constantly scudding in the air at a dispitious speed. Any subtle turning of the head cost us irretrievable
seconds of blindness. Eventually, our eyes were weaked down to 20% of their ability. At the time Krto drew level with us just sporadically and we hadn´t seen Jožko
for three quarters of an hour. Believe or not, then each of us was concerned in himself. We´re probably not heroes. Apparently not. For the first time, I was
exhausted like in a film. Our knees buckled, and when every other step sank into the snow, I tried to proceed on my knees. The snow posts lured us on to the
summit of Big Kriváň which was unnecessary. Here, as if by magic, the windstorm abated slowly but surely. We could walk gradually and we marked out the way to
the saddle of Snilovské. We could discern objects from 10 - 15m. We were going through various fatigue-induced halluciations, though. Each in his own way.
As for me, some flashlights blilnked in front of my eyes. Ivka sew yellow stains and Peter, too, saw posts were they were not. In a distaste I grasped my
phone ringing. Hadn´t I known there were trouble I would have buggered it. In a background roar Jožko spoke clearly: "I got lost .... I´m standing at a
strange rhombus sign ..... where to go?..."
The only I was able to utter was "it´s good.... follow the posts." After Snilovské saddle, all changed in to a standard mist powered by the low sun.
But paradoxically the visibility brightened perceptibly. We could see two posts at a time. After 45 minute walk from the turning to Hut under Chleb we reached it,
alive! Today, two days later, it´s hardly to believe. After some getting over and drink our thoughts focused on Krto and Jožo still out on the crest. After several
failed calls all was getting fucked again. Everithing was totally fucked up after another two hours when the others had already known they were still out. Before
30 minutes, the dark came, and we apologized to ourselves in uncountable ways. The only hope was that our fellows were able, at least, to cut it down to the village
Štefanová side. But in that dark!!! No! Everything ended otherwise.
Our guy became heroes at once, as they were welcomed in the hut by strangers, too, some two and a half hour later. Krto´s face appeared in the doorway with a
slight trace of smile which obviously signaled Jožko´s presence, too. For A WHILE there were no words to be find, no wonder..., but I won´t give you any "GO and
TRY"-commands. Later we got to know that Krto had chanced into Jožko and that had been very fine. And ehre is the time to pay tribute to Krto´s PDA navigation
which had saved them time if not something much more precious.