A balloon flight is one of the most incredible ways to admire mountain landscapes — especially those of Lesser Poland. On October 13, 2003, the first team hot air balloon flight over the Tatra Mountains took place. The expedition was organized by Dr. Marek Ostrowski and was intended to coincide exactly with the 65th anniversary of the attempt — unfortunately unsuccessful — to launch the first Polish stratospheric balloon in the Chochołowska Valley on October 14, 1938. The crew of balloon SP-BVG with a capacity of 3,000 m³ consisted of Krzysztof Mikołajczyk, Marek Ostrowski, and Karol Hofman. The crew of the second balloon — SP-BIK with a capacity of 2,660 m³ — consisted of Zbigniew Jagodzik and Andrzej Kuznowicz. During flight preparations, the possibility of launching from both the Polish and the Slovak side was considered, as well as the possibility of crossing the border several times during the flight. All customs, border crossing, and aviation formalities, as well as those related to flying over the Tatra National Park area, were agreed upon.
As one of the participants recalled: “Visibility was also excellent. Within one hour, we initiated all launch procedures. Knowing the wind direction, we tentatively marked the launch site on the map — in Zakopane in the area of the Krokiew ski jump. Customs and passport clearance was also carried out there. […] A released test balloon initially rose straight up, as the wind in the lower layers had virtually ceased. We had practically not expected such calm, sunny weather with excellent transparency. At an altitude of 1,000 meters, the balloon began to move in the direction of… Zakopane, because the weak wind heading along the ground toward the mountain range was bouncing off the Tatras and above the ground layer was turning back. Such circulation practically made it impossible to fly over the peaks and defeated the purpose of the expedition. However, at an altitude of about 1,500 meters, the balloon caught the northwest wind again and clearly changed direction toward the mountain peaks while simultaneously accelerating noticeably. A chance for the flight had appeared.” The launch took place at 9:40 AM, and the landing in Veľká Lomnica at noon after a 2-hour flight. The participants recalled that it was “a parade along the panorama of the Tatra peaks: We flew near Kuźnice, the Kondratowa Valley, the Goryczkowa Alpine Meadow, the Valley of the Five Polish Lakes, Morskie Oko, and then the wind guided the balloons exactly between Rysy and Gerlach. At an altitude of 1,500–2,500 meters, the wind speed was already 30 km/h. Balloon SP-BVG rose to an altitude of over 4,500 meters, where it caught wind exceeding 50 km/h. The air temperature at that altitude was below -10 degrees.” This was the first team balloon crossing of the Tatras in history.
