Day of Slovenian Mountaineers

The President of PZS warned about uniting forces in the fight against driving motor vehicles in the natural environment outside paved roads.



On June 4, this year's Day of Slovenian Mountaineers (next year it will be the jubilee 50th) took place on Jeruzalem in the Slovenian Hills, prepared in co-organization by the Alpine Association of Slovenia, Mountaineering Association Ljutomer, and the Municipality of Ljutomer. The Mountaineering Association Ljutomer also solemnly marked the 60th anniversary of its official operation on that day.



On Jeruzalem, the highest peak in Prlekija at 341 meters, around 1500 mountaineers gathered (including mountaineers from Croatia, Austria, and Hungary), who in beautiful, sunny weather chatted with friends, made new acquaintances, and listened to the ceremony as the central event of this all-Slovenian mountaineers' gathering. In the introduction, Ivan Kraljič, president of the Ljutomer mountaineering association, greeted everyone, saying that "celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Mountaineering Association Ljutomer simultaneously with the Day of Slovenian Mountaineers in the heart of the Prlekija hills is a mountaineering honor for us. We are proud of every tree, every stone, every flower, every handful of soil, every piece of this mosaic. Proud of every mountaineer, experienced or beginner, as long as their head is in the right place and their feet on the right path. Upward. To the mountains."

The Mayor of the Municipality of Ljutomer, mag. Olga Karba, who addressed the gathered mountaineers after President Kraljič, emphasized that "the courage of the pioneers who blazed new paths and tamed nature was always full of respect, consideration, and modesty toward the greatness of this environment. The mountains have special rules, rules of conduct, life, and survival. Organized mountaineering directly enables Prlečani and Prleki to experience this wonderful world, for which you, respected members of the Mountaineering Association Ljutomer, deserve the greatest recognition and thanks. Having the opportunity to go to the mountains with a guide, choose an interesting goal, and blaze the best path is anything but taken for granted. It is truly an exceptional privilege, an exceptional opportunity that we should seize in as large numbers as possible. Sincere thanks, dear mountaineers, also for offering these opportunities to experience the mountain world through your activities and especially for ensuring the safety of our citizens with your expertise for 60 years."

Dragotin Kuster, President of the Inter-Association Committee of Mountaineering Associations of Pomurje, to which PD Ljutomer belongs along with six other mountaineering associations, joined the congratulations for the good work in his greeting speech.

This was followed by the address of Jože Prah, President of the Commission for European Long-Distance Paths of Slovenia, and the solemn moment of this year's Eurohike under the motto Paths and Water, when the Eurohikers symbolically united the eight rivers of Styria and Pomurje. Specifically, the mountaineers poured water from the Sotla, Dravinja, Drava, Pesnica, Krka, Lendava, Mura, and Ščavnica into a barrel. The Slovenian part of the Eurohike 2011 will conclude on Saturday, October 1, 2011, on Geoss, when under the patronage of the President of the Republic, dr. Danilo Türk, they will fill a common vessel with water from all four main vessels. The mountaineer representatives will unite this water with the waters of all Europe on the final event in Spain on October 15 this year.

After the symbolic merging of waters, Bojan Rotovnik, President of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, in his speech, besides the Eurohike 2011 and the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Mountaineering Association, highlighted the local hospitality, but emphasized that this year's gathering is important for two reasons as well – "this year is the International Year of Forests and the European Year of Volunteering. The latter runs under the motto Be a volunteer, change the world. Given that mountaineering is based on volunteering, we can also do something for our forests this year, as we carry out many of our mountaineering activities there. I have in mind primarily the unwelcome driving of motor vehicles in the natural environment outside paved roads, which is actually a very big problem. This summer, mountaineers will have to show that we are strong, that we are united, that we are against such activities that cause great damage to nature."

The festive speech of this year's Day of Slovenian Mountaineers went to Branko Žnidarič, Vice-President of the Olympic Committee of Slovenia – Association of Sports Federations, who also awarded the Ljutomer mountaineers the Golden Plaque of the Olympic Committee of Slovenia based on their activities on the 60th anniversary of operation.

After the solemn unfurling of the new flag of the Mountaineering Association Ljutomer, the mountaineers on Jeruzalem were greeted and enthused with his pleasant and relaxed words by our top alpinist Viki Grošelj, who, he says, knows these parts well, as his wife is from here; he wished them further successful and mountaineering-colored years.



During the speeches, the host Vesna Danilovič Novak skillfully steered, and the musical thread in the cultural program was woven by the Ljutomer Octet under the direction of Dušan Prelog, young accordionists Domen Ritonja Kralj and Barbara Hrga from the Ljutomer Music School. At the end of the program, Lara Kosi and Kristina Žižek from OŠ Ivana Cankar sang the Kekec song and cheerfully accompanied the gathered into the continuation of the day. This was followed by socializing, chatting, reminiscing, weaving new friendships..., all accompanied by good Prlekija food and the pleasant sounds of the Prlekija ensemble.