Blaženosť (Zádušná), grade VI, Zvon Ostrvy, 1756 m

The first sun-lit route on the Zvon.

A state of complete contentment, fulfillment, and inner peace. Harmony between what a person feels, wants, and experiences - an experience in which a person feels the present moment as fully complete. The first sun-lit route on the Zvon, because it's good to know right at the start what the goal at the end might be.

Characteristics:

Even though this is the first route on the Zvon that the sun reaches, it's a good idea to warm up somewhere else first. Apart from the very start of the first pitch, Blaženosť holds a constant difficulty. When grading it, we went back and forth between VI and VI+ - we may still add a couple of bolts to the line, but we're waiting to see how a bit more traffic improves the rock's friction first.

A view of the west face of Ostrva

Approach to Zvon Ostrvy, to the Srdce Zvonu col

From the benches in front of the chapel at the Symbolic Cemetery, walk past the memorial plaques for Bachleda and Budzák, and right after them turn onto the path behind the railing. Keep following the path, which brings you out onto a southwest-facing moraine of large rocks. Go straight up over the boulders, then follow the path below the Left Tower of Galéria Ostrvy. Ahead of you are the "black flames" - a section of the wall overgrown with dark lichen. Here turn left and go along the base of the wall to a tiny cave below a gully, where two flat, wedged boulders are visible even from a distance. From Popradské pleso, at a brisk pace, this takes 30 minutes.

Past the cave, the path curves east, to the right, into the gully. Climb up the gully, keeping close to the wall on your right almost the whole way. Past the third free-standing large boulder, don't miss the turnoff for the descent route from Galéria - invisible from below, but marked by cairns. Turn off and climb the "descent route," which dips up and down twice. Walk carefully - part of Galéria Ostrvy is below you. After 5 minutes you reach a small col. Ahead of you is the imposing wall of Zvon, rising on the opposite side of the gully. On the left, right in the col, you'll spot a chain. Continue in the direction the chain points, straight up, then five metres down onto a faint path disappearing into the dwarf pine. From there, traverse (a second chain) into the gully leading all the way to Nižná Ostrvová bránka. Turn right here, and a rising traverse brings you to the small col called Srdce Zvonu. From below Galéria Ostrvy, this takes 20 minutes.

Alex at the start of the 2nd pitch of Blaženosť

Route description

Pitch 2, grade VI, 20 m, 1 rivet and 4 bolts

Above the anchor there's a well-defined corner that Tradičná follows, grade VII. Zádušná runs about 2.5 m to the right of the corner.

Straight up a slab (N1, the rivet), up a small crack (free climbing), around a clump of grass on the right, to the arête. Up the right side of the arête (B1), and up the arête itself onto a ledge (B2), from there below an overhanging wall with a distinct crack (B3 and B4). Either through the overhang via the crack, or slightly to the right across the wall, to the anchor.

The line is obvious, the bolts are clearly visible, and climbers can see each other the whole time.

On the summit of Blaženosť

The top - Blaženosť's second anchor - is its own separate little world within Zvon. There's nowhere to comfortably continue from it. It offers a view of huge boulders simply piled up on the summit part of Zvon, and it invites reflection on the laws of entropy. If you do choose Blaženosť as your first route to climb on Zvon, it'll at least give you a good sense of what kind of terrain you're moving through.

Descent:

Two comfortable rappels bring you back to the base of Zvon.

Time required, from Popradské pleso

• Approach to the base of the wall: 55 minutes.
• The climb: depends on the routes chosen and your pace.
• Descent: 55 minutes.

These times apply to a two-person climbing team. For a party of three, or for beginners, it may take several hours longer!

Gear

• a sit harness and chest harness
• a helmet
• a single 60 m / 80 m rope, or alternatively a 30 m / 40 m twin or half rope
• 8 to 10 quickdraws
• 6 locking carabiners and HMS carabiners
• a belay/rappel device for each climber
• a set of cams
• slings and a prusik cord
• climbing shoes
• topos and route descriptions

Your pack at the base of the route should also have:

• a first-aid kit with a thermal reflective blanket
• a headlamp
• enough fluids
• food for the field
• clothing to protect against cold and rain
• a mobile phone with a charged battery

A view of Zvon in Ostrva from Popradská poľana

Characteristics of Zvon Ostrvy:

A sixty-metre-high wall of monolithic granite with loose boulders stacked on its ledges. It sits above Galéria Ostrvy and forms the middle section of Ostrva's west face. Seen from Popradská poľana, its shape resembles a giant church bell (zvon). Together with the start of the gully leading up to Vyšná Ostrvová bránka, it holds seven routes - thirteen varied, well-protected, and beautiful pitches ranging from grade IV- up to VII-. On most of them you'll need to place your own protection between the glued-in bolts. The approach from Popradské pleso is short but exposed. Climbing on Zvon Ostrvy requires mountaineering experience - it isn't suitable for absolute beginners! Before visiting Zvon, beginners should first do at least Anjelský hang, Protiprúd, and Velický zub.

Don't climb above the anchors of the second pitches - there are a lot of loose rocks on the ledges up there, and moving through that terrain is an extreme risk for everyone! Only the route Dospelosť reaches the summit of Zvon. On every route, the way down is a comfortable rappel.

Below Zvon there's a small col called Srdce Zvonu. It's a magical and comfortable spot to gear up and drop your packs.

The routes are dedicated to the different stages of human life, from conception to its final stage. Ontogenesis - in this case meaning climbing all the routes in a single day - is a solid climbing achievement. The sun doesn't reach Zvon until midday. It warms the rock first on the right, at Blaženosť, and slowly moves "in retrospect" from the end of life back toward its beginning - the last rays belong to the route Bytosť. The exception is the route Tvorivosť (Sliping Bjuty), set off to the side in the gully leading to Vyšná Ostrvová bránka - a good warm-up right before reaching Zvon itself.

History:

The first route in this part of Zvon, climbed ground-up in the autumn of the 2017 season, was Tradičná, grade VII, running to the left of Blaženosť. Its first ascensionists were Peter "Helmut" Köteleš and Martin Murár. Since it's a hard traditional route, outside the Ta33 philosophy, we don't describe it here. Blaženosť (Zádušná) was climbed shortly afterward by Rasťo Dalecký and Martin Murár as its variant.

Bolted in the autumn of 2017 by Rasťo Dalecký and Martin Murár.

Between Dospelosť and Tradičná there's also a route by Ján Horváth, about which, unfortunately, no details could be established. It's climbing roughly around grade VIII. The first pitch, in the lower part of Zvon, is easy to follow, but the second gets lost in a maze of loose blocks. The ridge section, grade III (described as part of Dospelosť), offers nice climbing on solid rock. Also of interest is the route up the tower we named "Náprstok" - after climbing it, we estimated its difficulty at around grade VIII-.