Mountain·Slovakia / Poland

Rysy

2,501m

High Tatras

Chris Olszewski · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 2,501m
Prominence: 163m
Isolation: 0.9km
Relief: 1,361mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 61°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: Oct–JunSee month by month ↓
First ascent: 1840
Summit: 49.1800°N, 20.0881°E

Border peak in the main ridge of the High Tatras

Rysy is a mountain in the High Tatras (Slovakia). Its summit stands 2,501 m above sea level. It is the highest point of PL. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 163 m. It was first climbed in 1840.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,140 m), it rises 1,361 m. The steepest side is the north-west face: 43° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 61° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Vysoké Tatry, 12 km away at 887 m: 1,614 m below the summit.

Rysy for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

9.1/10

Difficulty to the top

Mountain walk

Most path sections around the top are T4 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

2.5/2.564 waymarked routes and 288 path sections nearby
1.5/1.510 huts and shelters
1.6/21,614 m of ascent from the valley
1.0/1.5163 m of prominence
1.5/1.57 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

7.5/10

2.7/444 km of downhill runs
1.5/1.542 ski lifts
0.4/1.5357 m between the lowest and highest lift station
3.0/38 months of snow at about 1,780 m

Runs by difficulty

Beginner 1 km
Easy 15 km
Intermediate 19 km
Difficult 8 km
Freeride 2 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,780 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from October to May.

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

42 lifts · lift stations from 1,601 to 1,958 m · 19 km cross-country

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

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Snow

When there is snow on Rysy

At the summit, snow from October to June (some years from September to July). Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Summit2,501 msnow from October to June (some years from September to July)	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow some of the time	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Halfway up1,694 msnow from November to May (some years from October to May)	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Vysoké Tatry887 msnow from December to April (some years from November to April)	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow on the ground all month

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Rysy, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average July afternoon the summit reaches about 10 °C; on January nights it falls to about -20 °C. In 7 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,110 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (64 mm) and July the wettest (139 mm).

0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Vysoké Tatry high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-13	-20	-3	480	66	14	1.7
February	-12	-19	-1	700	64	14	2.9
March	-8	-15	3	1,310	69	15	4.4
April	0	-10	10	2,430	69	15	5.7
May	5	-4	15	3,220	119	19	6.2
June	8	-1	19	3,800	127	18	6.5
July	10	1	21	4,110	139	18	6.8
August	10	1	21	4,100	102	15	7.0
September	5	-4	16	3,310	89	13	5.1
October	-1	-8	10	2,390	78	13	3.5
November	-6	-12	4	1,530	70	15	1.7
December	-12	-18	-1	730	65	15	1.1

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,034 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. Heights drawn 2× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.

West – east

South – north

Steepness by direction

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Rysy

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

A lift reaches 1,958 m — just 543 m below the summit.

10mountain huts and shelters
Chata pod Soliskom, Horský hotel Popradské pleso (1,494 m), Zbojnícka chata (1,960 m), Schronisko PTTK w Dolinie Pięciu Stawów Polskich (1,670 m) and 6 more
7cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Mostíky, Medvedia Kopa, Solisko Expres, Kolej krzesełkowa Gąsienicowa and 3 more
6ski areas
Štrbské Pleso, Strednica, Kasprowy Wierch, Tatranská Lomnica and 2 more
64waymarked hiking routes
Tatranská magistrála, Kozi Wierch - pod Kozim Wierchem, Za Zmarzłym Stawem - Zadni Granat, Szpiglasowa Przełęcz - Szpiglasowy Wierch and 60 more
2via ferratas
Priečne sedlo (A)
18climbing crags and routes
Czech-Ustupski, WHP100, WHP114, Droga Lerskiego and 14 more
1named glaciers
Lodowczyk Mięguszowiecki
36viewpoints
Priečne sedlo, Sedielko, Kozi Wierch, Tatrzańskie Serduszko and 32 more
2campsites
Táborisko na poľane pod Vysokou, Szałasiska
111hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Crocus, Hotel Hubert, Grand Hotel Kempinski High Tatras, Rysy and 107 more
71restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

288 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T1T2T3T4T5T6

T1 hiking
T2 mountain hiking
T3 demanding mountain hiking
T4 alpine hiking
T5 demanding alpine hiking
T6 difficult alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

Vysoké Tatry12 km · 887 m
Štrba13 km · 866 m
Murzasichle14 km · 943 m
Nová Lesná14 km · 748 m
Svit16 km · 723 m
Ždiar16 km · 887 m
Zakopane17 km · 819 m
Bukowina Tatrzańska18 km · 886 m

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OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

High Tatras, the top of the Rysy mountain, view to the Kriváň — Dguendel · CC BY 4.0

Panorama z Rysow podpisana — Krzysztof Dudzik-Górnicki ( User:ToSter ) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1991–2020 average	-13	-12	-8	0	5	8	10	10	5	-1	-6	-12
2020	+2.0	+2.7	+1.2	+0.8	−3.0	−0.2	−0.8	+0.5	+1.8	−0.4	+0.8	+1.5
2021	−0.2	+0.8	−1.1	−4.2	−2.5	+2.0	+1.4	−1.7	+0.4	−0.5	±0.0	−0.7
2022	+0.5	+1.8	−0.4	−2.7	+1.3	+2.8	+1.5	+2.1	−1.7	+3.4	+1.5	+0.7
2023	+2.8	+0.7	+1.6	−2.4	−0.3	+0.2	+0.6	+1.0	+3.8	+2.7	−1.0	+1.3
2024	+1.3	+5.0	+4.3	+1.9	+1.8	+1.6	+2.3	+3.2	+1.9	+1.4	±0.0	+1.7
2025	+3.5	+1.3	+4.3	+1.4	−2.2	+2.3	+0.6	+1.4	+2.0	−1.7	+0.7	+2.3

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

2,655 mGerlachovský štít

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q672936) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profiles	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Climate	NASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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