Exhausted on juhovýchodnej stene Jahňacieho štítu: rescue of climbers under Lamb's Peak
Operačné stredisko tiesňového volania HZS received a call for help from Polish colleagues from the rescue organization TOPR. Two climbers were stranded in difficult winter conditions below the summit of Jahňacím štítom, outside the marked hiking trails.
A helicopter posádka VZZS z Popradu was deployed to carry out the operation. Two specialists Oblastného strediska HZS Vysoké Tatry boarded the helicopter at the helipad in Starom Smokovci. Later, a 46-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman were found on the juhovýchodnej stene Jahňacieho štítu massif.
Rescuers descended to the exhausted people using an onboard winch. Both climbers were lifted in turn in an evacuation triangle and airlifted to Chate pri Zelenom plese, where they were successfully landed.
Source: Uviaznutá dvojica pod Jahňacím štítom
Context
Jahňacím štítom (Jahňací štít, 2229 m) is the easternmost peak of the High Tatras and one of the few local two-thousanders with an official marked tourist route. At the same time, the classic yellow trail through the Red Valley and the Kolovi Priehod pass is available to tourists only in the warm season, as the Tatra National Park (TANAP) has a seasonal winter closure of high-altitude areas.
The southern and southeastern slopes of the mountain, which drop down towards the Zeleny Pleso valley, belong to a harsh mountaineering terrain with mobile scree, rock walls and snow-covered couloirs. The base for rescue operations and hikes in this sector is the year-round mountain shelter near Zeleny Pleso, located at an altitude of 1,551 m.