Climbing Triglav, Slovenian highest mountain

annnna8888

I took a day off in late July to get some fresh mountain air and stretch my legs. And my legs got stretched alright! :ivar

Ever since my teenage years I've wanted to climb Triglav, the highest Slovenian mountain, via the Plemenice route. It's supposed to be one of the most demanding, precipitous and beautiful climbing routes in Slovenia as far as marked trails go. The start of the climb is at 1000 meters above sea level, and with Triglav at 2864 meters it means a 1900-meter altitude gain (about 6200 feet). The ascent takes 6-7 hours to the top, and then another 5 to return to the starting point.

It was a long day. After only 1.5 hours of sleep (yes, I was nervous and eager to go!) my brother and I set off at 3.30 a.m., parked the car in the Vrata valley and started hiking towards Luknja col at about 5 a.m. The sun slowly rose from behind the horizon and illuminated the peaks above us.

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After gruelling two hours on scree this view of the valley on the other side opened up from the col.

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Everybody had a short break to drink some water, put away the hiking poles and put on a helmet. Then the fun began.

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Climbing! Yeah! Unfortunately there was a huge group in front of us, which meant a lot of waiting.

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We overtook them at the first opportunity and enjoyed the climbing. We were gaining altitude fast. There is the col right below us.

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My brother took photos, too.

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It was really exhilarating, but at the same time, a word of caution - this is not a route for the faint-hearted. :wink

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Every now and then the trail levelled out a bit and we had a chance to catch some breath and enjoy the views.

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More climbing and more people on the trail.

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All along the way we had breathtaking views. This is Triglav in the background with its famous north face.

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After breakfast on a grassy patch among the rocks we had to tackle a snow-covered slope. It was a bit slippery but the snow was soft and there was no need for crampons and an ice-axe.

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Soon we reached the rock face again.

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On the last stretch of the climb.

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My brother had an advantage over most climbers with his long legs.

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At the top it's customary for everybody who's climbed Triglav for the first time to be 'baptized' with a length of rope. :rofl

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The trail descending on the other side of the mountain resembles a pilgrimage. Always crowded. :scratch The fog that rolled in from the south prevented us to see the precipice on one side of the ridge (which is good for those with vertigo).

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Looking down towards two mountain huts as well as what is left of the Triglav glacier.

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Lunch at this mountain hut was delicious!

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Our legs already hurt but we still had a difficult descent in front of us.

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Climbing down is not as much fun as climbing up.

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A few more snow patches to cross.

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This year there are many reports of numerous ibexes around Triglav. We saw quite a few ...

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... even cornered one with another group of hikers going up. The ibex didn't seem bothered at all, it just nibbled at grass, looking at us all the time, and then it leapt across some rocks and out of our way. Of course I had my wide lens on. :cry

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With lots of vertical meters to cover and knees that were already killing me, my will to take photos somewhat dwindled.

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No more sun for us during the last part of the descent. This is one of the few stretches of the trail where you don't have to climb or crawl.

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I'm sorry for a long post, it's really meant as a documentary of this climb. I had fun, admittedly more so than my knees :rofl, and I can't wait for September when I can do some more climbing!

Ana

rwells

WOW!!!

That's a climb


I love hiking in the Rockies, but I think I just realized that I'm a wimp


Thanks for taking & posting these.

hawkeye978

Unbelievable series Ana. Breathtaking and a great story!

marcpro

Beautiful !!

That's exactly what I like to do in the mountains.

Although once again, I must say that the "accomodations" are much more luxurious on your trails than where I go! The mountain hut where you had lunch looks like a 5 star resort!

Cheers,
Marc.
PS: Are you hauling the DSLR on these steep hikes? Or using a Point and Shoot?

scole

Great series- thanks for sharing! Interesting to see what qualifies as "trail" across the globe!

What does the sign say in picture #20?

annnna8888

rwells wrote:

WOW!!!

That's a climb


I love hiking in the Rockies, but I think I just realized that I'm a wimp


Thanks for taking & posting these.

Thanks, Randy! I wouldn't call anybody who loves hiking a wimp.

Ana

annnna8888

hawkeye978 wrote:

Unbelievable series Ana. Breathtaking and a great story!

Thanks, Tom! I had a blast!

Ana

annnna8888

marcpro wrote:

Beautiful !!

That's exactly what I like to do in the mountains.

Although once again, I must say that the "accomodations" are much more luxurious on your trails than where I go! The mountain hut where you had lunch looks like a 5 star resort!

Cheers,
Marc.
PS: Are you hauling the DSLR on these steep hikes? Or using a Point and Shoot?

Hey Marc, thanks! Yes, Slovenia has a pretty good network of mountain trails and huts. Accommodation is still quite basic in most huts - you get a bunk bed with just a blanket (no sheets) in a dorm room - though some do have doubles or triples. It beats having to lug camping equipment with you on difficult climbs. As far the food goes, it's the best. No fancy sophisticated dishes, just hearty food that gives you energy for the whole day of hiking.

As for photo eqiupment, yes, I always haul my DSLR with three lenses with me. Can't you tell that some of the photos were taken with a fisheye - that's something that can't really be duplicated with a compact camera, and that's reason enough for me to put up with the additional weight.

Ana

annnna8888

scole wrote:

Great series- thanks for sharing! Interesting to see what qualifies as "trail" across the globe!

What does the sign say in picture #20?

Thanks! Well, what I mean by "a trail" is a trail marked with blazes for easier orientation. It can be a hiking trail or a climbing trail.
Oh, and the sign in #20 says "marked climbing route", which means it's equipped with steel ropes and pegs. The white and red circle that you can see in the same photo (and in #15) is the blaze for mountain trails used in Slovenia.

Ana

dlplumer

Wow, you are not only an excellent photographer, but a fit athlete as well.

Great post

dseidman

Great set of images, Ana! Great story and photographs to tell it.
This is much crazier than anything I'd ever attempt but I'm sure you had lots of fun doing it.

Congratulations on finally making it to the top of Triglav!

Doug Solis

Wow, what an adventure! Best you did it when your young as with age also comes increased anxiety (at least for me) when it come to heights. Fantastic images especially given the conditions. the only part I don't get is there was a business/restaurant where you could get something to eat, was it about at the halfway point??

annnna8888

dlplumer wrote:

Wow, you are not only an excellent photographer, but a fit athlete as well.

Great post

Thanks, Dan! I love sports in general, yes, but hiking/climbing is especially dear to me as I can combine exercise with nature and photography!

Ana

annnna8888

dseidman wrote:

Great set of images, Ana! Great story and photographs to tell it.
This is much crazier than anything I'd ever attempt but I'm sure you had lots of fun doing it.

Congratulations on finally making it to the top of Triglav!

Thanks, Danny! It's crazy, yes, but don't tell anyone.
I've actually climbed Triglav three times, just never via this route before.

Ana

annnna8888

Doug Solis wrote:

Wow, what an adventure! Best you did it when your young as with age also comes increased anxiety (at least for me) when it come to heights. Fantastic images especially given the conditions. the only part I don't get is there was a business/restaurant where you could get something to eat, was it about at the halfway point??

Thanks! I have to be grateful for not having problems with vertigo. Hopefully this doesn't change.
And yes, the mountain hut is located about 1.5 hours below the summit. From the hut it was still 3.5 hours back down to the valley. Hope this explains the geography.

Ana

dseidman

annnna8888 wrote:

Thanks, Danny! It's crazy, yes, but don't tell anyone.
I've actually climbed Triglav three times, just never via this route before.

Ana

Well in that case, congrats on finally taking that route!

bryanj87

What an adventure! Great photos, as everyone else has said.

Andy

Thank you!

rainbow

My compliments on both your photos and your accomplishment in summiting!

annnna8888

Thanks everybody! I'm glad you liked my little adventure! Now I'm off to the Adriatic Sea for 4 days to unwind a bit! :ivar

Ana

Kinkajou

Wow, this reminds me so much of the Dolomites (Italian Alps)... I used to live in Czech Republic and four of us did an overnight hike very similar to this. It was just awesome. I only had a point & shoot at the time, which might've been a good thing since I didn't need more weight to carry!

We brought our sleeping bags and stayed over night at a refuge just below the summit. They had a small pub inside the refuge and the polenta with wild mushrooms I had there definitely ranks among the top ten meals I've ever had. So simple and good after a long day of hiking!

In case you're interested, those shots are in my pre-dSLR gallery pages here

Lovely shots, Ana. Looks like a fabulous day trip. Can't wait to see more of your adventures!

thapamd

Unbelievably gorgeous shots, Ana. I love how you documented your trip so well and colorfully. Beautiful!

Elaine

Gorgeous! Thank you for sharing your adventure!

annnna8888

Thanks again, everybody, and sorry for the late reply, I was away at the seaside!

Ana

post2cd

That was great. I think I would have fainted halfway up and would have to be rescued by someone.
The pictures as individual were breath taking and as a series awsome.
By the way, did u use a p/s or dslr? Hanging round ur neck would have drained the batteries due to low temparuteres and fogged the lenses? How did you manage to overcome these difficulties? Did you face any other problems and how did you manage it? would you like to share with us?