Along the Slovenian Mountain Trail and into Pravljičarija...

Along the Slovenian Mountain Trail and into Pravljičarija under Triglav.

In anticipation of the 34th Slovenian Book Fair, Planinska založba is also preparing, enriching its collection these days with a trilogy of new guidebooks along the legendary Slovenian Mountain Trail by seasoned writers Gorazd Gorišek, Mojca Stritar Kučuk, and Andraž Poljanec, as well as a collection of fairy tales from the mountain world of Pravljičarija under Triglav by renowned publicist and storyteller Kristina Menih. The Alpine Association of Slovenia is joining the international Read the Mountains initiative for the fourth time and looks forward to the new year with the 2019 mountaineering calendar.



The Slovenian Mountain Trail (SPP), established in 1953 on the initiative of Ivan Šumljak, is Slovenia's most popular long-distance trail and one of the oldest in Europe and the world. The new optional guidebook Slovenian Mountain Trail has been published in three parts, penned by three experienced authors of mountaineering literature with exceptional both literary and hiking mileage. "The new guidebook provides a wealth of updated data, presenting the entire SPP as a sequence of individual daily stages that participants can adjust according to their abilities and wishes. All necessary data are sensibly and clearly presented: elevation of the stage start and end, elevation gain, length and walking time, trail difficulty, points of interest along the way, possible ascents to nearby peaks, and emergency descent options to the valley. Information on all huts along the trail is provided, along with QR codes for the first time, plus a map of the stage route and profile, and a short route description. Since there is quite a lot of data on the SPP and with the desire for hikers to take such a booklet with them in their backpack, we opted for this format and three thinner guides," emphasized guidebook editor Jože Drab at the press conference at the Alpine Association of Slovenia headquarters in Ljubljana.



In the first part, Gorazd Gorišek leads us from Maribor across Pohorje, Kamnik-Savinja Alps, and Karavanke to Mojstrana. "We start by walking through vast Pohorje forests, later across Slovenia's youngest volcano, Smrekovec, and on Raduha we peek into high mountain terrain, which we stick to with intermediate descents to the valley almost until the end of the first part of the SPP. So there's something for everyone," the experienced trail walker charmed the introductory part of the SPP with its diversity. How does he experience the legendary trail? "I respect it. Its creators, especially Ivan Šumljak and his like-minded associates, did great work. Over the years, it has become increasingly popular, with more and more hikers taking it on. As the 'father' of the Slovenian Mountain Trail already emphasized, rushing from stamp to stamp won't let us experience much. If we have time, it's worth seeing the numerous points of interest along the way, both natural and cultural-historical," reflects Gorišek, also the author of Expanded Slovenian Mountain Trail and 10 x Krk guidebooks. Soon we expect his guidebook To the Snowy Mountains, in which he presents 55 peaks in Slovenia and the nearby border areas, mostly easier mid-mountain routes, some more serious tours to two-thousanders, and in the introduction he focuses on safe movement in winter conditions.



Gorazd hands us over to the author of the second part, Mojca Stritar Kučuk, in Mojstrana, who takes us across the Julian Alps, visiting some of Slovenia's highest peaks led by Triglav and Jalovec. "Going to a peak in one day, as we usually do in our home mountains, is different from when one of the peaks is part of a multi-day mountain journey. When writing, I also had in mind the user who is not a beginner in the hills but is walking the SPP for the first time and hasn't been to these areas yet, perhaps not even Slovenian, making it all even more foreign to them, as our wish is for the guidebooks to be translated into one of the foreign languages," said the hill lover, also co-author of the Mountaineering Fun Book, always most enthusiastic about the Bohinj-Tolmin Mountains. "The SPP is relatively long, well-equipped with huts that provide comfort for hikers, and above all very diverse, from the dark green of Pohorje and fragrant Primorska to very demanding sections in our highest Alps. That's why we wrote the new guidebook in three parts, so each part can be hiked in the most suitable season. The Julian Alps should definitely be tackled in mid-summer or early autumn, while the Primorska section can be hiked even in winter under favorable conditions," added Stritar Kučuk.



In the third part, Andraž Poljanec leads us across Cerkno Hills, karst plateaus, and Primorska karst all the way to the Slovenian sea. "The last part of the SPP consists mostly of long walks through forests and karst scrub, which are much less crowded than the mountain world. The hiker can thus fully enjoy solitude and peace, and for me, encounters with locals were unforgettable, as well as the exceptional colorfulness especially of the karst landscape in autumn," he said even before the press conference, which he missed due to business obligations, and as co-author of the previous SPP guidebook, he highlighted: "The added value of the new guidebook is primarily its very clear layout, with all important data gathered at the page margins. Very useful are the precise maps for each stage and elevation profiles. Stages with significant introductions are described by days, sometimes with intermediate overnight options noted. In the introduction, which users probably usually skip, there are many useful pieces of information, so I recommend making an exception this time. Since most hikers tackle the SPP in parts, a guidebook in three separate books is extremely welcome."



Impressive is the fact that more than a hundred thousand Logbooks from the Slovenian Mountain Trail have already been sold, and overall more than ten thousand people have completed it. "Slovenes like to move and walk in nature, mountains. For many, it's an invitation to discover new places in the homeland, others see it more as a sports aspect, and the third group thus takes care of their health and well-being, resting from a strenuous work week. Just like marathons, hikes and long-distance trails are becoming increasingly popular. If the traverse used to be the domain of older hikers, it's encouraging that more and more young people are taking it on," put the finishing touch Jože Drab.



Pravljičarija under Triglav is intended for young - and also older - lovers of good reading, a collection of ten fairy tale mountaineering stories signed by Kristina Menih. "In all my stories, I like to play with fictional characters that emerge on the wings of my imagination. This time, the stories are united by the mountain world of the last valley under Triglav, where a young lady and her little dog, pitbull Dixie, vacation, befriending the visible and invisible world. The pitbull breaks stereotypes about this breed with her friendliness," emphasizes the publicist, renowned storyteller and narrator, whom Planinski vestnik readers already know from heartfelt, original, and instructive fairy tales. The book was enriched with illustrations by Jernej Kovač Myint, and the portrait of the real Dixie was contributed by academic painter Biljana Unkovska. Editor Anka Vončina already noted that the book is exciting reading for everyone, and Menih adds: "Each story carries its own message that stands out from everyday thinking and stirs a child's imagination. In this mountain Pravljičarija lives a truly colorful society - from mountain animals that communicate without speaking, to goblins, dwarves, fairies, and mythical Krivopet. I think and hope the book will be interesting for adult readers too."



The Primorska native paid tribute to her late little dog, pitbull Dixie, her faithful companion, with the book. As she said, during walks she often faced disapproval from passersby: such a nice lady, but with such a terribly dangerous dog! When Dixie went to dog heaven, she promised herself to write a story about a friendly pitbull and thus at least somewhat soften the general unpopularity of this dog breed. Otherwise, Menih's creative opus is very extensive, her fairy tales published on Radio Trst A, Radio Slovenia, in Planinski vestnik, on two CDs, and in books: "All the stories and fairy tales I write are permeated with joy of life. Some are spiced with humor, others with unobtrusive lessons, and the third with a different, more open view of the visible and invisible world around us."



The 2019 mountaineering calendar calls for new experiences in the embrace of mountains and reviving mountaineering memories. Picturesque author photographs take you through the Slovenian mountain world in different seasons and times of day, so the authentic taste of mountaineering in pictures will be fresh all year, and tips for mountaineering trips are welcome.



The Alpine Association of Slovenia is joining the Alpine Convention's Read the Mountains 2018 initiative for the fourth time and invites celebration of the International Mountain Day with organization of book-colored events around December 11 - with the common idea: promotion and celebration of cultural diversity in the Alps. Events can still be registered on the Alpine Convention website for almost a month.