Hi, everyone!
my name is marcin, i am a new member of your Club
i came from Poland, i live in York since 2004
here is my short report from my last holiday in Tatra Mountains (Slovakia)
Tatra mountains are located on the boarder of Poland and Slovakia, reaching 2655m (Gerlachovsky stit)
start points of marked trails are on the height of 900-1350m, so to reach the highest tops, sometimes you have to go 1700m of height (about 6-7 hours of hiking and then scrambling to the top and few hours back from tops to valleys )
the largest part of Tatra mountains belongs to Slovakia, much smaller to Poland
when you want to hike/scramble/climb in Tatra Mountains in Slovakia you have to buy an insurance, which covers costs of rescue with a helicopter in case of an accident
Rules of hiking/scrambling/climbing in slovakian part of Tatra mountains are as follows-
http://www.tanap.org/national-park-rules/
these rules are very complicated
there is a big inequality in treating tourists in slovakian part of Tatras
there are not many marked trails, which are allowed to everybody (from 16.06 to 31.10)
when you want to use the easiest routes to the tops of the most interesting and highest peaks you are not allowed to go there, unless you are accompanied by a certified mountain guide
alternatively you can climb these peaks legally, but you have to climb them by routes more difficult than II UIAA and use easiest routes just for descent
guide can take up to 3 tourists
the price for hiring a guide is 180 (one hundred and eighty) pound a day
when you hire a guide on your own, you still pay £180, two persons pay £90 each, three £60 each
i call it ”milking” the tourists 
of course i have taken a guide as well, a couple of times
but just for trips, which were too diffucult for me to do them on my own, winter ascent of the second highest peak of Tatras (Lomnicky Stit, 2632m), by one of the via-ferratas last winter and one climb (6 hours to the top) of III-IV UIAA this summer
of course, you can climb all these peaks, which are allowed with a guide only, but you risk few things-
-a fine from Park wardens, if you are caught (up to £100)
-when you meet a guide with clients, there usually is an argue and they report you to Park wardens
-in case of an accident, an unlucky tourist pays all the costs of rescue, which can be very, very high, when helicopter has to be used (even £10 000)
one can buy mountain/climbing insurance, but it is not sure, that insurer will pay a compensation, because when you go there, you break the local law
so climbing the highest peaks of Tatra Mountains without a guide can be very risky
i will remind a deadly accident from the last year -
http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB3/sper-death-on-gerlach-slovakia-t55069.html
there is just one exemption from these rules, which allows climbing the more difficult highest peaks without a guide in winter (when every trip to climb this peaks is a small expedition)-
- Any climbing within the grade I or II on the scale of difficulty is permissible to be carried out only in the summer if it is necessary for the descend, or in the period 21 December – 20 March in both directions when the terraine is used for the winter training.
for a few years i have broken rules of slovakian Tatra National Park, because i don’t like, that people who pay, can climb the highest peaks and people who don’t have enough money, are not allowed to go there
especially that the price of hiring a mountain guide for a day is almost as high (£180) as a minimum monthly wages for a full time job in Poland/Slovakia (about £220)
in the beginning of September i spent 10 days in Zdiar, Slovakia
i was on a few of the highest peaks of Tatra Mountains – Ladovy Stit (2628m), Pysny Stit (2623m), Kezmarski Stit (2558m), Bradavica (2476m), Snehovy Stit (2467m)
just once i hired a guide (Snehovy Stit, climb of III-IV UIAA)
on the remaining peaks i was on my own (just up to I UIAA), breaking the local law by not hiring a guide
link to photos-
https://picasaweb.google.com/114509131742617773312
first six albums are from my trip in September
