The President of Slovenia, Danilo Turk, has conferred one of the highest state honours, the Order of Merit, on two of the country's most accomplished mountaineers.
The awards were given to Silvo Karo and Francek Knez for 'their achievements in Slovenian mountain climbing and for their contribution to the reputation of Slovenian mountaineering, and the greater recognition of Slovenia, throughout the world'.
The two mountaineers were the main players in Slovenian mountaineering during the 1970s and '80s, and in 1982 teamed with the late Janez Jeglic (who disappeared on Nuptse West after climbing a new route with Tomaz Humar)to begin incredible partnerships that, with their cutting-edge ascents, would give them full international acclaim.
It is arguable that the 'three musketeers', when at their peak, formed the most powerful team of its kind in the world.
Karo has been described picturesquely by Argentinean alpinist and Patagonian guru Rolando Garibotti, who felt that climbing with the Slovenian was "like racing with Schumacher or playing football with Maradona........To me, Silvo has been a hero, an idol".
Karo has made around 1,850 alpine ascents, 170 of them new, and taken part in 24 expeditions. Several of his new routes were milestones in the evolution of lightweight climbing in the Greater Ranges, and many remain unrepeated.
His successes are considerable but in the Alps include Divine Providence on the Grand Pilier d'Angle and the second ascent of Rolling Stone on the North Face of the Grandes Jorasses.
Further afield he has put up significant new routes in Greenland, Peru and the Karakoram, climbed Broad Peak and reached over 8,000m on Yalung Kang.
In 1990 he climbed the now legendary West Face of Bhagirathi III with Janez Jeglic, a route considered at the time to be one of the hardest in the Himalaya. But that year he also sport climbed to 8a and took part in an expedition to the West Ridge of Everest
However, it is in Patagonia where Karo has really made his mark. Of his many new routes in the Fitz Roy Group, the stand-out ascents have to be the Devil's Diedre on Fitz Roy, the Devil's Direttissima on the East Face of Cerro Torre, and the exceptionally difficult (6b and A4) South Face of Cerro Torre.
Karo is also an honorary member of the Alpine Club.
Born in 1955, Knez is perhaps less well-known globally, but could easily claim to be the greatest alpinist ever produced by Slovenia. A legendary rock climber, his routes in the Slovenian mountains are still revered, and most know that they should add at least one technical grade to his reported ratings.
Knez has climbed a staggering 5,000+ alpine routes, more than 700 of them new. On the North Face of Triglav alone he has put up 34 lines of VI and above.
He also added new lines to the North Faces of the Eiger, Grandes Jorasses and an almost-completed new line on the South Face of the Matterhorn. As long ago as 1982 soloed the 1938 Route on the North Face in a record six hours. He also soloed the Bonatti Pillar on the Dru in two hours.
Knez's ability to climb boldly at a high level on the dodgy limestone found on many of Slovenia's walls led to numerous first ascents on the great faces of the Dolomites, notably in the Tre Cime, with routes such as The Power of Thought (IX-) on Cima Grande.
In Patagonia his many new routes, such as Psycho Vertical on Torre Egger, were climbed with Karo, while in India he climbed two new routes on Meru East, a new line on Bhagarathi II, and in the Pakistan Karakoram, a first ascent on Trango Tower, the now classic Slovenian Route.
Knez was the first to reach the top of the great South Face of Lhotse via a route that ended well left of the central line on the Nuptse-Lhotse ridge. He also took part in many of the classic Slovenian expeditions to the big Himalayan peaks, such as the West Ridge of Everest, but never summited.
Thanks to Jure Gregorcic for help with this report
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