Rysy 'Direttissima' in High Tatras climbed free by Michał Czech, Maciek Kimel, Tomek Klimcza

One month after the first free ascent of Biały Ryś at the hands of Danny Mensik and Petr Vicha, it's the east face of Rysy in the High Tatras on Slovakia that's in the news once again. This time the remote peak on the border between Slovakia and Poland was visited by the Polish climbers Michał Czech, Maciek Kimel and Tomek Klimczak who, from 8 - 10 February made the first free ascent of the nearby Direttissima. Established to the right of Biały Ryś by Hendrych, J. Kulhavý and L. Sulovský in August 1975, the Direttissima was originally graded VI A3 and now goes free at VII M8+.

The initial idea had been to repeat Biały Ryś but when Klimcza joined Czech and Kimel, it became immediately obvious that they would try their luck on the Direttissima; Klimcza had attempted it on various occasions in the past and the time had come to settle the score.

Writing on his social media handle, Kimel explained "Driven by bold ambition and a good dose of optimism from the favorable forecasts, we set off on a 5-hour hike to our wall. After smoothly crossing Waga Pass and descending into the valley, we began climbing. On the first day, we completed 3 easy pitches along grassy slabs, and by around 5 PM, we had settled at our first bivouac."

After a beautiful but cold night the trio started early "The second day started with Klimas, who showcased his dry-tooling skills on the difficult rock pitches, storming through them effortlessly. The biggest puzzle of the day was an A3 slab, which Michał deciphered without any issues, and after leading 6 pitches that day, we set up our second bivouac." This proved less comfortable than the first due to damp sleeping bags and rationed gas, but early the next morning they set off once again.

"On the first pitch, we reached the biggest puzzle of the route: the A2 roof. The gaping green blocks were not inviting. At the belay station, there was a moment of confusion: who would take on the challenge of overcoming this obstacle? All the previous pitches had gone smoothly on the first attempt, and the weight of responsibility — not to mess this up — fell on my shoulders." writes Kimel. "Hesitantly, like a first date with a girl, I gathered the gear from the guys, and when it came down to it, I pulled out my secret weapon from my backpack: soft climbing shoes.

Initially, the pitch followed a vertical wall with a lot of loose rock, and after 15 meters, it led to the crux roof. A few minutes of struggle, and a cry of joy echoed through the valley. After a dozen or so minutes, the guys joined me at the belay station. A quick reorganization, and the next pitch was mine. Then Michał took over, and after a few pitches, he exited the wall and led us to the summit with a running belay."

According to the Polish Alpine Club, the Direttissima "represents the quintessence of Tatra adventure: remote, difficult, and requiring bivouacs." Writing to planetmountain, Kimel explained "For Michal and I, it was a small dream because this wall is majestic but the conditions are rarely good for climbing there. For Tomek, it is the completion of a project he started 10 years ago."