Rysy, Mountain peak in High Tatras, Poland and Slovakia.
Rysy is a mountain in the High Tatras on the Polish-Slovak border with three summits: the middle at 2,501 m, the north-western at 2,500 m and the south-eastern at 2,473 m. Its granite massif rises over 1,100 m above Morskie Oko, and a 500 m rock wall with climbing routes falls away on the eastern side.
Ede Blásy reached the summit in 1840 together with mountain guide Ján Ruman-Driečny as the first climbers. The following decades brought additional routes and mountain shelters for climbers on both sides of the border.
The Polish and Slovak name Rysy means "scratches" or "crevices", taken from the couloirs on the western slopes of Żabie Ridge or the 500 m couloir on the northern side. A Slovak folk explanation links it to lynxes, though lynx habitat does not reach above the timberline. The German Meeraugspitze and Hungarian Tengerszem-csúcs mean "eye-of-the-sea peak", after Morskie Oko at the northern foot.
The climb from Morskie Oko lake takes about six and a half hours one way and gains over 5000 feet (1500 meters) in elevation. Good footwear and sure footing are important because of rocky passages and climbing sections.
Iron chains secure the steepest sections above the treeline, where the granite rock becomes smooth and exposed. Fog can roll in suddenly and make orientation difficult, even on the marked path.
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