Vežička padlých anjelov - Anjelský hang 1919 m

Together with Stienka anjelikov, this is the best spot in the Tatras to practice climbing on your own protection.

Characteristics

Three 40-metre single pitches from grade III+ to V+, for those learning to place their own protection

Easy approach, gorgeous monolithic rock, and a variety of climbing from III+ to V+. Climbing them is the "primer" for every beginning Tatra climber.

Anjelský hang opens up new possibilities in Mlynická dolina:

• for climbers, combined with climbing the Protiprúd route through the Skok waterfall;
• for hikers, with a crossing of the Bystrá footbridge, or an ascent of Satan or Štrbský štít.

South-facing:

The genuinely enjoyable character of this spot also owes a lot to the south-facing walls. The slope sits high enough above the temperature inversions (the clouds stay below it), while still being close enough for a comfortable trip home (while it's still light out).

Down to the right below Stena archanjelov stands a 40-metre-tall tower. It faces southwest, and its top merges into the grass at the upper part of the slope. In its upper third the tower is split by a ledge, and three long single-pitch routes run through it. All of them are ideal for practicing climbing while placing your own protection. On the ledge in the upper third of the tower, all three routes offer excellent options for building an anchor without pitons. An anchor built this way can be backed up with a long sling on the first bolt of the route Lucifer - the sling can be placed so it doesn't form the anchor itself, but only prevents the worst. The tower is also great for practicing top-belaying from an anchor above - a 60-metre rope is enough for a careful rappel down the route Azazelo, but not enough for the most common form of crag-style top-rope belaying with the belayer at the bottom, also called belaying "on the fish."

With an 80-metre rope, this is ideal, very appealing terrain for climbing with children. You can reach the top of the tower (to set up a top-rope) via a broken, usually wet gully on the left side.

For the route names, we drew inspiration from the demonic characters of two novels about beautiful women named Margarita.

Approach via Mlynická dolina (1:30 h):

The initial section is the same as the approach to Protiprúd.

Mlynická dolina is one of the most beautiful valleys in the Tatras. Looking more closely from the shores of Štrbské Pleso, its main features are easy to make out: the Solisko ridge borders it on the left, and the Bášte ridge on the right, while Štrbský štít closes it off at the far end. The floor of the valley rises steeply in three steps. The first step, framed on the right by Veža and Stena pod Skokom, is the Skok waterfall. The second is Anjelský hang itself. At the far end, the south rib of Štrbský štít and the surrounding little walls raise the valley floor, forming the Mlynický and Štrbský basins. Between the first and final steps mentioned lies a rocky slope. The yellow trail markers skirt it on the left, past Nižné volie pliesko. At the top of this slope is the start of the easiest route to the highest peak of the Bášte ridge - Satan - and the surrounding place names match: Satan, Pekelník (Hellion), Diablovina (Devilry), Čertov hrb (Devil's Hump), and on top of that, the Horned, Goat, and Ox tarns. But even the ruler of hell was created as an angel, and only worked his way to his current status - as a child of light he used to play with his peers, the angels. Probably only once he traded his wings for horns did his mobility shrink so much that he's stuck poking up out of the valley as a 2,422-metre-tall giant. Perhaps thanks to that, we managed to discover this angelic playground, formed of exceptionally solid, beautifully shaped granite. We named it Anjelský hang. It's made up of Stena archanjelov (90 m), Vežička padlých anjelov (40 m), and Stienka anjelikov (30 m). Nineteen pitches here make up twelve routes, from grade III to grade VI+. All of them can be climbed "light" - no pack, no approach shoes for the descent, and none of life's other accumulated baggage. You can rappel the routes comfortably straight down to the start. For those who want to enjoy the romantic little summit meadows where you can lie down, there's one more bolt at the top of the slope - right above it is an excellent flake, perfect for a 120 cm sling. An ideal combination for an anchor.

In German-speaking areas, a spot like this is called a "Kletterngarten." Well, know that in this little garden you'll find a ninety-metre-high crag facing south. Climbing here calls for placing your own protection, but bolts show up at just the right time, in just the right places. Come try it out. From Štrbské Pleso it's an hour and a half on foot to the base of the wall - a hiking trail marked in yellow, starting at the valley station of the Solisko chairlift. Not all trails are alike, though - judge for yourself: first through the forest, then through a dwarf-pine grove with a babbling stream, past imposing towers, up to a small azure-coloured tarn. Its shore is a beach of white sand. From there, either straight up through the waterfall via Protiprúd, grade III, or along the marked trail to the left around the waterfall, up to the large lake above Skok - Anjelský hang is mirrored in it. Then you have to hop across rocks jutting out of the stream, past a small waterfall, up to Zadná mlynická poľana with its huge boulders. Shortly past the spot where the little stream disappears underground, there's a turnoff toward the angels, marked by a cairn on a boulder. The path is lined with a wealth of mountain flowers - white pasque flowers, yellow arnica, blue harebells, purple soldanellas, and many more. If you don't want to socialize with hikers, set out at dawn - that's when you'll see chamois and maybe even marmots. Two ravens tend to fly above the slope. If possible, avoid starting the approach between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Come - the traces of your blueberry-and-jam-stained fingers will fade after your visit, but what you lived through stays forever.

Lucia Kaššáková and a big cam

Descriptions of the individual routes:

3. Mefisto, grade IV-/III, 39 m, bolt at pitch 1

The route follows the tower's dominant, gradually widening crack, veering left in its upper part, still below the main ledge.

Start up a diagonal slab (III) with ripples worn smooth by water. Ahead of you are two thin cracks (micro-cam). Continue up them and up the main widening crack, to the point where the crack bends left (III) - there are ideal gear-placement options here, even the largest common cam sizes (2 and 3) come in handy. Here, leave the big crack and traverse across a wall, diagonally right, to a vertical crack, B1 (IV). Climb it through another small wall onto a ledge. Above the ledge there's a diagonal ramp heading right into the wall (III). Below the top, bolts number 3 and 4 from the route Lucifer can be used.

Miro Štrpko wrestling with Mephisto.

Time required

• Štrbské Pleso – Anjelský hang: 1 hour 30 minutes
• The climb: depending on the routes chosen
• Return to Štrbské Pleso: 1 hour 30 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 rope
• 10 quickdraws
• 2 x 120 cm slings
• 4 locking carabiners
• 2 locking HMS carabiners
• a belay/rappel device for each climber (for example a Gigi or a Jul)
• 10 cams - basic as well as small sizes, or nuts with a nut tool
• climbing shoes
• 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
• topos and route descriptions