Awaiting the book fair and mountain reading

In anticipation of the 33rd Slovenian Book Fair, Planinska založba PZS is also preparing, having enriched its collection this year with the historical monograph Solid as a Rock, Slovenian and English guidebooks to the Soča Valley - Bovec Region, the map of the Krn Mountains, a reprint of the short story collection Over the Edge, and the 2018 mountaineering calendar; children are already looking forward to the December release of Mountaineering Fun Book 2. The Alpine Association of Slovenia is joining the international Read Mountains initiative for the third time on International Mountain Day.



Although they broke new ground in alpinism and skiing in Slovenia between the wars, the book Solid as a Rock - A Short History of the Tourist Club Skala is the first historical monograph on TK Skala, providing an overview of the activities of this elite Slovenian mountaineering club. From its ranks came many excellent alpinists, skiers, lugers, mountain rescuers, photographers, writers, lecturers, and filmmakers, including Mira Marko Debelak, Pavla Jesih, Joža Čop, Klement Jug, Henrik Tuma, Metod and Rudolf Badjura, Miha Potočnik, and Stanko Tominšek. "In February 2016, it was 95 years since the founding of the Tourist Club Skala, an elite mountaineering club largely responsible for the rapid rise of Slovenian alpinism after the war; as the initiator of skiing in the 1920s and 1930s, it also deserves great credit for Slovenians being known today not only as a mountaineering or alpinistic nation but also a nation of skiers. Despite its major role in alpinism, mountaineering, and skiing, and due to its main role in the first Slovenian feature-length silent film, publishing, etc., also in a cultural sense, the Tourist Club Skala had not received the necessary retrospective view in an independent book form in nearly a hundred years," emphasizes historian Peter Mikša, co-author of the book on this strong mountaineering-sports and cultural-educational organization with Elizabeta Gradnik.



The mountaineering guide Soča Valley - Bovec Region, in English titled The Soča Valley - Bovec Region, collects the most beautiful mountaineering excursions between the source of the Soča and Bovec or between Vršič and Boka Waterfall. Panoramic valley walks, easy ascents to mid-mountain peaks, and demanding and very demanding paths to two-thousanders, among them countless stories of people, places, and fairy-tale beings. Photographs depicting the valley and surroundings in all their beauty, and descriptions of mountaineering tours were published in Planinski vestnik, our oldest magazine for mountain lovers. The authors of the descriptions are renowned writers Gorazd Gorišek, Janko Humar, Andrej Mašera, Irena Mušič Habjan, Mojca Stritar Kučuk, Andraž Poljanec, and Bor Šumrada; the guide was edited by Irena Mušič Habjan, who invites you on the path with these words: "Visitors to the Bovec area can choose from easy excursions in the guide, such as viewing the extraordinary Boka Waterfall, climb to the Bovec Matterhorn Svinjak, enjoy the rocky kingdom of Kanin, or drive a bit further to Vršič Pass, which is the starting point for some more difficult secured paths, such as Hanza Path to Mala Mojstrovka. Each excursion includes a path profile for easier visualization of the ascent effort and also the descent if doing a circular route, as well as an overview map with the route marked. The text describing the mountain and the suggested tour route has been enriched with photographs. The wish of all who go to the mountains is to return home satisfied, so we have added recommendations from the Club of Alpine Associations (CAA) for safe mountaineering and safety on very demanding mountaineering paths. The neatly designed booklet with nineteen excursions can be taken on the tour; it won't add extra weight to the backpack. We hope we succeeded with the selection of excursions and that it will become part of the bookshelf for all who like to venture into the valley of the emerald Soča River." An excellent complement for exploring the Soča region is the new mountaineering map Krn Mountains - 1:25,000, which shows the area even more accurately and clearly than its predecessor, the Krn map.



A reprint of the book Over the Edge is back in the spotlight, testifying that readers have embraced Vladimir Habjan's collection of short stories, which with vivid and immersive writing invites them into nature, mountains, the world where we discover our limits, while also revealing the adventures and mishaps of people in the mountains—sometimes bitter, often humorous, above all those that awaken a rainbow of emotions, captured also in black-and-white illustrations by Danilo Cedilnik - Den. "Even more than the influences of the outside world, which all hill-walkers know well, it's about internal happenings. This involves a whole palette of emotions, from joy, enthusiasm, curiosity, to fear, anxiety, and despair. Extreme situations can draw the most out of a person, even something they would never expect from themselves. That's the real charm. People who visit mountains and also read are interested in the adventures of those who move everywhere in various circumstances. Of course, expedition and alpinistic stories attract the most, but also those in which they recognize themselves," emphasizes Habjan, who often co-creates great stories as a mountain rescuer. Over the Edge is the eighth book in the Among Mountain Rescuers series; he also edited the book Rescue in the Mountains and signed the book of experiences Living with Mountains.



The popular Mountaineering Fun Book, which gently introduces children aged 4 to 9 to the mountaineering world through play, creativity, and mental challenges, will get its long-awaited sequel in December: Mountaineering Fun Book 2, the second workbook with mountaineering themes, this time for children and youths aged 9 to 14. Authors Urška Stritar, Karmen Usar, and Emil Pevec have prepared a series of variously demanding tasks, from crosswords, reading, guessing, and finding rhymes to drawing, photography, and crafts, in which young mountaineers will familiarize themselves with the basics of safe mountaineering and acquire other knowledge; some challenges are intended to stimulate imagination, creativity, and experiencing the feelings that hills awaken in us. The tasks are equipped with photographs and illustrations contributed again by Petra Grmek.



After new experiences in the embrace of the mountains and reviving mountaineering memories, the 2018 Mountaineering Calendar beckons. Vivid author photographs take you through the Slovenian mountain world in different seasons and times of day; this year's novelty is tips for mountaineering excursions directing to the mountain goal adorning each month or to a view of it.



The Alpine Association of Slovenia is joining the Alpine Convention's Read Mountains 2017 initiative for the third year, encouraging mountaineering clubs in organizing events, and around December 11, International Mountain Day, in collaboration with clubs and libraries, announces a series of events—with the common idea: promoting and celebrating cultural diversity in the Alps. Events can be registered on the Alpine Convention website for almost another month.