Inside the First Free Ascent of ‘Bílý Rys’—Burly M9 Trad in Polish Tatra Mountains
Early on the morning of December 28, 2024, the Czech alpinists Petr Vicha and Danny Menšík began the six-hour hike toward the imposing 450-meter northeast face of Poland’s highest peak, Rysy (2,501m), in the High Tatras mountains. Three days later the duo had realized their vision: the first free ascent of Bílý Rys at the bullet-hard grade of M9 and 5.11. We caught up with Vicha to learn more.
Bílý Rys was established over three days in late December 2013 by Czech climbers Pavel Vrtík and Martina Kratochvílová. Originally graded M6/A2, the route follows a striking, direct line to the summit, surmounting white-granite overhangs before joining the southeast ridge to the summit. The first ascent party’s frequent taunting on social media, inviting climbers to repeat the route, piqued the interest of Menšík and Vicha. In 2023, on the 10th anniversary of the climb, they took the bait and decided to have a look at freeing the route.
Unfortunately Menšík and Vicha found the face plastered in rime ice and buried under a heavy load of snow. The unfavorable conditions forced an early retreat. They did not forget their project though, and set out a year later, between Christmas and New Years, to give the route another shot. This time, with better conditions, the friends hopped on the train to Rysy on December 27 with plenty of food, iron, and a light bivy kit.
The next morning, they disembarked the train just south of their objective. Rysy is a popular summer trek, and its well-marked trails made for relatively easy travel by foot, especially compared to their 2023 attempt.
In classic High Tatra fashion, the first few pitches, although moderately graded, proved cerebral and difficult to protect. The route follows a faint, rightward trending groove up turf-filled cracks and snowed-up slabs for four pitches before arriving at a small snowfield, where they stopped for the night. The team had brought bivy sacks instead of a tent to save weight, and it paid off as temperatures hovered around a balmy 20°F.
On their second day Vicha and Menšík got to work on the headwall. A straightforward pitch of M6 drytooling led to the first aid crux of the route: an M6/A1 that they freed at a technical M7+/5.11. Conditions were perfect for free climbing, Vicha says. The temperature was just warm enough to allow bare-handed rock climbing. When asked about the pitch, Vicha describes it as “the perfect mixed style”: a combination of thin cracks and long reaches perfect for climbing with tools, and slopey ledges that were much easier to grab bare handed.
They climbed for another 150 meters, passing difficulties up to M6, before reaching the intimidating white granite roofs that give the route its name. (“Bílý Rys” is translated to White Lynx, a nod to the Slovakian folklore origin of the mountain’s name, “Rysy,” which means Lynxes.)
Vicha and Menšík bypassed an M5/A2 section on the left, freeing it at M6+, before tackling what would become the route’s crux. Vicha took off from the belay, climbing toward the steepest section of the white scar, but was unable to decipher the complex roof. As daylight was fading, he scanned the underbelly of the roof and spotted another set of features to his left that looked to be free climbable. With this new variation in mind the pair rappelled down a couple pitches to a comfortable bivy ledge. They had plenty of food and the weather appeared to remain stable. They would try and free this last crux in the morning.
On their third and final day, Vicha and Menšík climbed back up to their high point. This time Menšík took the lead, and, using Vicha’s variation, managed to free this long and intense pitch: 40 meters of sustained and steep M9/5.11. Once again the temperature played in their favor, allowing them to take off their gloves and crimp through sloping sections where dry tooling would be utterly desperate. Vicha followed the pitch cleanly.
Their variation having taken them off route, they climbed another hard pitch of M7+ to get back onto the original line then continued up easier ground for 300 meters to the summit of Rysy.
Ecstatic about their free ascent, they descended via a hiking trail all the way down to the train station and arrived back home to their families in the Czech Republic right on time for New Year celebrations. Soon after, Vicha returned to Chamonix where he lives in his van. Menšík swapped ice tools for powder skis and beelined for Japan. They say they’re not planning anything for the future, but, like most climbers, they might just be keeping their cards close to their chests.
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