Winter conditions in the high mountains of Slovenia are currently so unusual that many climbers are taking advantage, creating hard new routes and making important repeats
Although the country's highest mountain, Triglav, is no more than 2,864m, the Slovenian 'Alps' has provided the traditional training ground for Slovenian alpinists aspiring to higher walls or even Himalayan expeditions.
In cold, snowy winters the peaks become quite challenging, with long approaches, loose rock, often marginal protection and changeable conditions.
However, in the last decade or more, lack of a real winter, and easier access to many other areas in the European Alps, has led to the big faces in Slovenia becoming deserted. Often there were more Slovenian alpinists climbing hard routes above Chamonix than could be found in the mountains of their home country.
Last December it rained hard, right up to the level of the summits. This guaranteed that, subsequently, snow and ice would stick to steepest of walls.
Once a period of high avalanche danger had passed, an increasing number of climbers found real treasures in the hills: many routes now in condition are being climbed on an almost daily basis, and new routes are constantly being added. The walls are busier than in 'old times'.
In this report from Andrej Grmovsek, we record just a small selection of the harder and more spectacular climbs achieved.
Back in December, before the arrival of the 'perfect conditions' Grmovsek and Marko Lukic climbed the summer route DD on the North Face of Raduha.
This 185m line is graded UIAA VI+, but the pair dry-tooled it, free, at M7. In the last few years the pair have dry-tooled some of the existing routes on this fine, steep wall, always in bad (ie Scottish-like) conditions. They have started something of a revolution, bringing Scottish mixed climbing techniques onto the steep walls of Slovenian mountains that form no ice smears. See more on this at GrmoClimb.
At the end of December, the first big new route of the 'perfect conditions' was put up by Urban Azman and Jurij Hladnik, who added Kozmična kataklizma (500m: V/5 and M7) to the North Face of Prisojnik.
On the 17th January Grmovsek and Lukic picked a fine plum by making an all-free, winter ascent of Ledenka on Stajerska Rinka. This 550m route, climbed in 1991, is graded UIAA VIII+ and was put up by the most visionary and prolific Slovenian climber of the 1980s and 90s, the legendary Francek Knez.
Knez produced routes that were way ahead of their time, and Ledenka proved no exception. In the intervening years it received only one ascent, and on this the climbers used aid. The crux is a band of rotten, loose overhangs.
In January the rock was covered in soft snow, so Grmovsek and Lukic made a slight variation, which they protected with three pegs, completing the route at M8 and AI 6. More on this can be found at GrmoClimb
David Debeljak and Andrej Erceg enjoyed very rare, excellent conditions on the aesthetic, 900m Spik Direct (summer grade V+, climbed this winter at V/5 M).
And just last week a few more interesting climbs were accomplished. Luka Ajnik and Marko Brdnik made a rare (and almost free) repeat of Huliganska (350m: summer V+ and A2e), while Grmovsek and Lukic climbed the 400m Direct Route (400m: VI-, this winter V/5 M6+), both on Stajerska Rinka.
So if you've ever thought about winter climbing in Slovenia, now is the right time for action (mountain faces or ice falls - almost all are in condition). Check the photos in the links and decide. It is possible to buy a useful climbing guide with excellent photos from Sidarta, but it's written in Slovenian.
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