Žabí kôň

The Žabí kôň (literally “Frog Horse”) climb belongs to the legendary climbing tours in the High Tatras.

Žabí kôň 2,291 m above sea level is the lowest tower in the section of the main ridge of the High Tatras, which separates Žabia dolina from the Polish valley of Rybiego potoka. It is located in Kotlina Žabích plies, in the ridge, it lies between Rysy and Žabia veža.

We start the hike at Popradské pleso tarn. We continue along the marked trail in the direction of Rysy, from which we turn to Kotlinka pod Žabím koňom and from there we ascend to the ridge. Access to the edge of Žabí kôň leads through the gorge to Žabie sedlo. The ascent continues through Dolný kôň (“Lower Horse”), followed by a steep ridge to Horný kôň (“Upper Horse”), and ends with a shorter vertical rise below the summit. Due to its large exposure and required mental strength, this route is also referred to as the Climber’s Graduation. We will end the hike by climbing towards Vyšné Žabie sedlo (“Upper Frog Saddle”) and a steep descent back to Kotlinka pod Žabím koňom.

The climb has 3rd-grade difficulty with beautiful views of the Morskie Oko tarn, the Polish Tatras and the Mengusovská valley.

Elevation: 800 m

Difficulty: III

Hike duration: 8 hours