Герлаховский штит: Высочайшая вершина Словакии

Highest mountain in Slovakia

Gerlachovský štít (, translated into English as Gerlachov Peak, German: Gerlsdorfer Spitze, Hungarian: Gerlachfalvi csúcs), informally referred to as Gerlach, is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the Carpathian Mountains. Its elevation is usually listed at 2654.4 m above mean sea level. The mountain features a vertical rise of approximately above the valley floor. Mistaken for an average mountain in the rugged High Tatras range in the more distant past, it has since played a symbolic role in the eyes of the rulers and populations of several Central European nations, to the point that between the 19th and mid 20th century, it had four different names with six name reversals. Due to geopolitical changes, it was successively the highest mountain of the Kingdom of Hungary, and of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia and then Czechoslovakia again within the span of less than three decades of the 20th century. Gerlachovský štít shares its geology and ecology with the rest of the High Tatras. With the travel restrictions imposed by the Eastern Bloc, the mountain was particularly treasured by Czechs, East Germans, Hungarians, Poles, and Slovaks as a high mountain available for them to climb. Although local authorities have since restricted access to the peak, it continues to attract its share of visitors.

Gerlachovský štít means the "Peak (of the village) of Gerlachov". The Slovak colloquial (unofficial) name is Gerlach. The Polish official names are Gerlach or Gierlach, while its Polish colloquial names are Girlach and Garłuch. The name of the village of Gerlachov itself is of German origin, because the Spiš region around the High Tatra Mountains in Slovakia used to be inhabited by German settlers for several centuries.

The peak's earliest recorded name was the Szepes German Kösselberg (Cauldron Mountain) on a map from 1762. The Slovak name of the mountain was first recorded as Kotol, also meaning "Cauldron", in 1821. Both names referred to the peak's characteristic cauldron like cirque. Its current name became widely used in the 19th century, and links the mountain to the village of Gerlachov (Carpathian German: Gerlsdorf)) at its foot. The name Gerlsdorfer Spitze (Gerlachov Peak) was used by the first person to identify the mountain as the highest peak in the Tatras in 1838; this was rendered as gerlachovský chochol (Gerlach crest) in a Slovak version of his report in 1851. Several other mountains in the High Tatras have acquired their names from villages in the foothills. Once it was determined that the mountain was the highest point in the region, the succession of the authorities that held control over it took an interest in its name and changed it periodically for symbolic reasons. In 1896, as part of Austria Hungary, it was named after state Emperor Francis Joseph I. The new Czechoslovak government changed the name to Štít legionárov (Legionnaires Peak) in honor of the Czechoslovak Legions in 1923, but the name was dropped in favor of the earlier Gerlachovský štít in 1932. As a result of the Communist coup d'état in 1948, the mountain was renamed once more − to Stalinov štít (Stalin Peak) in 1949. Greiner's measurement was formally confirmed by an Austrian Army survey party in 1868. However, it was generally accepted only after the Vienna Military Institute for Geography issued a new, authoritative collection of maps of Central Europe in c. 1875. The first confirmed ascent was made by Ján (Johann) Still from the village of Nová Lesná in 1834. In 1880, the routes through the Velická próba (Velická Challenge) and Batizovská próba (Batizovská Challenge) were secured by chains.

Only members of a national Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA) club are allowed to climb the peak on their own. Other visitors have to take a certified mountain guide. The two easiest routes, usually up the Velická próba and down the Batizovská próba named after their respective valleys, are protected by chains. Because of an exposed section along the Velická próba and tricky orientation especially on the ridge, both are among the more difficult scrambling routes in the High Tatras. With no snow, guidebooks grade the routes as a II or III climb (UIAA scale) The route named Martinkova begins at Poľský hrebeň and leads to the summit along the ridge. The Martinkova route has two main variants; a short version starts at Litvorové sedlo and is considered easier, because it skips a section from Velický štít which requires abseiling. The total elevation gain is about for those who spend the night at the Sliezsky Dom Hotel or are driven there by a mountain guide, and about for those who hike from Tatranská Polianka. In winter, Gerlachovský štít offers a challenging alpine climb, with mixed climbing and a risk of avalanches. Low air temperature higher up can be masked by high insolation under clear skies, but will take its effect with increased cloud cover. Combined with windy conditions, the impact may be considerably detrimental even without rain or snow. The summit disappears in the clouds for periods of time on most days, which translates to fog at that elevation and a risk of disorientation. While temperatures are somewhat lower on Gerlachovský štít because of its elevation, the weather and its potential impact on visitors is little different from other summits in the High Tatras both with and without marked trails. The typical daily weather pattern in the summer is a clear morning, clouds gathering by around noon, and occasional showers and storms in the afternoon. The chance of rain is lowest between 9–10 am and peaks between 2–3 pm, with a drop off after 6 pm. The frequency of storms with lightning (as opposed to rainstorms) on Gerlach's summit and on the other highest ridges is little different from lower elevations.

+ Gerlach summit, rounded monthly averages Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov DecAir temperature2–3 pm, Celsius 11 11 8 5 0 3 5 5 2 1 6 9Air temperature2–3 pm, Fahrenheit 12 12 17 23 32 37 41 41 36 10 21 16Precipitationin millimeters 120 120 100 130 120 190 190 140 90 90 130 150Days with storms and lightning 0 0 0 2 5 9 9 6 2 0 0 0Days with summit 10+ min. in clouds (low visibility) 21 20 22 23 26 25 26 24 21 19 21 21Days with rime ice 19 15 16 16 13 5 4 5 10 11 17 19Days with snowfall 19 16 18 19 16 9 5 4 6 11 17 19Days with snowcover > 31 28 31 30 24 8 4 3 6 15 28 31Days with visibility > at 2–3 pm 15 12 12 7 3 3 4 5 8 17 15 15