For children in the mountains, the goal is not important, but the experience - it must be safe

For a safe visit to the mountains in summer - even more so if we go to the hills with children - we need a set of knowledge, from choosing a suitable destination and planning the route to knowing the equipment, dangers, weather, orientation and first aid. We must adapt the visit to the mountains to the children's abilities, the length of the tour to their age. The principle of gradualness from less demanding to more demanding should apply, emphasized the Alpine Association of Slovenia, which has more than 20 thousand young mountaineers as members, at a press conference before the start of the summer mountaineering season on 3 June at the Planinski dom na Uštah - Žerenek. This year it celebrates 70 years of organized work with young people, and for more than a decade it has been inviting families to visit family-friendly mountain huts. Parents will also find valuable help in the new handbook for family mountaineering by Urška Petek Majhni koraki, veliki vrhovi, a professional, life-like and practical handbook for parents and children from cradle to adolescence.

When we go to the hills with children, safety must come first. According to data from the Mountain Rescue Association of Slovenia (GRZS), there are around 50 injured children annually involved in accidents in the mountains and on difficult-to-access terrain, which is why the president of the Alpine Association of Slovenia Martin Šolar, also a mountaineering education instructor and father of four children, emphasized: "Many accidents in the mountains are caused by parents' excessive ambitions, who do not realize that they must adapt mountaineering goals to the children. We adapt mountaineering goals to the children's abilities, the length of the tour to their age. The principle of gradualness from less demanding to more demanding, from lower to higher should apply." In the last fifteen-year period, GRZS recorded only 14 interventions within excursions of mountaineering clubs, less than one accident per year - fortunately, there are practically no accidents on organized tours of mountaineering clubs for now. Therefore, the invitation to young mountaineers to join mountaineering clubs and youth sections remains valid.



"More than 20,000 young mountaineers from preschool children to the age of 26 represent almost a third of the members of the Alpine Association of Slovenia. The Youth Commission of the Alpine Association of Slovenia takes excellent care of work with young people and we must do everything to ensure this continues, to support work with young people in mountaineering and to keep young people with us. The Youth Commission has always also been a breeding ground for personnel for later responsible tasks and functions in clubs and at the Alpine Association of Slovenia. Work with young people within our basic cells - families, among friends, in schools - is also important. Instilling an attitude towards the mountains, towards hiking in the mountains and towards belonging to the Alpine Association of Slovenia is a key task," said President Šolar about the importance of young people in the mountaineering organization and the role of the Alpine Association of Slovenia.

In order to attract as many families as possible with the help of child-friendly and adapted offerings at mountain huts, the Alpine Association of Slovenia has been awarding the family-friendly mountain hut certificate since 2013, which is currently held by almost a third, 45 mountain huts throughout Slovenia. These huts have child-adapted equipment, i.e. children's chairs, stands, guards, changing table, play corner ... and adapted children's portions. The location of the hut allows families relatively easy access, the mountaineering paths are suitably maintained, as are the parking lots at the starting points, and the surroundings of the hut are also suitable and safe for uninterrupted activity of children and families.


For young and also older mountaineers, there will be plenty to do on the Day of Slovenian Mountaineers 2026, which invites to Pohorje on 13 June. The Alpine Association of Slovenia and the Mountaineering Club Ruše, which celebrates 125 years this year, are preparing an all-day event at the Ruška koča on Areh, experiences for young mountaineers, families and adults, guided mountaineering and mountain biking tours, sport climbing, presentation of the work of trail markers and mountain rescuers and much more interesting things.


The Youth Commission of the Alpine Association of Slovenia together with youth sections operating within mountaineering clubs has been taking care of the popularization and quality of mountaineering for 70 years, encouraging youth organization and youth work and training professional personnel who work with young people. "The Youth Commission of the Alpine Association of Slovenia celebrates 70 years of operation this year. In this time it has grown into one of the largest and most branched youth volunteer networks in Slovenia, which today connects more than 80 youth sections throughout the country. Its operation is based on the dedication of numerous mentors of mountaineering groups, youth leaders, guides and other volunteers, who enable young people to spend quality free time in nature and bring them closer to the values of mountaineering, responsibility, cooperation and volunteering," illuminated the head of the Youth Commission of the Alpine Association of Slovenia Ana Skledar, also a volunteer guide of the Alpine Association of Slovenia.



"In seven decades, several generations of young mountaineers have grown through the programs of the Youth Commission, many of whom today themselves co-create the mountaineering organization and pass on knowledge to younger ones. In 25 years, for which we have data, more than 315 thousand copies of diaries have gone among young mountaineers, which is additional proof of great interest in mountaineering among the youngest and that collecting stamps is good motivation for them," Skledar also said. The jubilee year will be marked by several events, the culmination of the celebration will be Gojzerfest, which on 19 September in Ljubljana's Tivoli will bring together young mountaineers, volunteers and show what the importance of youth mountaineering is. The topic of children in the mountains will also be the theme of the June issue of Planinski vestnik.

Tips for a safer summer visit to the mountains with children

Carefully plan the route. Regularly check preparedness, equipment, route plan and weather forecast, including alternatives for changing the outing.
We go to the mountains with a backpack with essential mountaineering equipment. Children should carry their own backpack with basic equipment - to teach them that one goes to the mountains with a backpack.
Wear quality light mountaineering boots, high or mid-high, especially for feet unaccustomed to walking on mountaineering paths. Do not forget protection against ticks, sun and rain and warm clothing, as it can cool down quickly even in summer. Otherwise, children should not be dressed too much while walking, but appropriately for the temperatures.
Adapt the visit to the mountains to the children's abilities, the length of the tour to their age. The principle of gradualness from less demanding to more demanding, from lower to higher should apply.
Set realistic goals and limits: determine time frames, stopping points and when to return.
Ensure that children consume enough fluids and energy - with a refreshing drink (not carbonated), energy-rich snack and treats. Tasty food and drink can also be obtained in the mountain hut. There are 45 family-friendly mountain huts throughout Slovenia. In them or on the summits, children can also stamp their diary.
Actively monitor the condition of young companions: alertness, well-being, mood and hydration. A transparent bottle for drink is recommended so that children have control over available fluid.
Go to the mountains early to avoid summer heat and afternoon thunderstorms accompanied by lightning.
Trust your own feelings: if we feel uncertain or tired, cancel or postpone the outing. If we lose markings, return the same way back.
When crossing mountaineering pastures, respect the living space of animals grazing there. Observe them from a distance. If we have a dog with us, keep it on a leash.
Avoid risks due to competitiveness or pressure from others: decide for ourselves and reject the risk. Encourage open communication.

The summer mountaineering season from mid-June to mid-September attracts the most mountaineers to the mountains. "Despite already high summer temperatures in the valley, in the high mountains at the beginning of the season we can still encounter snow patches, so special caution is required when crossing them. If we assess that we cannot cross it safely, we rather turn back or choose another route. We should also keep in mind the unpredictable weather events we have been witnessing recently and take into account that this can be even more intense in the mountains," warned Damjan Omerzu, Secretary General of the Alpine Association of Slovenia.



Adapt equipment according to the difficulty and length of the mountaineering route and the altitude we have to overcome. "We recommend that there is always a personal first aid kit, aluminum foil, headlamp and spare batteries, mobile phone with full battery, map, since a smartphone can also fail, spare food, enough fluids and warm clothing and protection against rain and sun in the backpack. An indispensable part of equipment is appropriate footwear - on easier routes these can also be lower mountaineering boots with quality sole, for high mountains we recommend higher boots that provide additional support and protection. Where there is a possibility of falling rocks, we recommend a helmet," advises Omerzu, also a mountaineering education instructor, to mountain visitors.



For a safe visit to the mountains in summer - even more so if we go to the hills with children - we need a set of knowledge that includes choosing a suitable destination and planning the route, knowing the equipment, dangers, weather, orientation and first aid. Children should carry their own backpack with basic equipment - to teach them that one goes to the mountains with a backpack. What they had in theirs was shown by first-graders Meta and Nace Petek, six-year-old mountaineers from the Mountaineering Club (PD) Kamnik, namely first aid, gloves, cap, T-shirt, trousers, socks and headscarf, headlamp, energy bar, bottle with drink, snack, jacket, diary and sunglasses. Their father Marko Petek, vice-president of PD Kamnik, alpine instructor and volunteer guide of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, added that "the parent must also have additional fluid in the backpack, additional snack, also shared - for example fruit, carrot, nuts, pepper, crackers, bars -, additional clothing for themselves and some reserve also for the child, larger first aid kit, sun cream, knife, map, compass, paper and pen and seat pad".

Not only with her four children, Urška Petek also honed her mountaineering skills with numerous generations of young mountaineers - as a long-time volunteer guide of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, head of the youth section of the mountaineering clubs Idrija and Kamnik, mentor of a mountaineering group and mountaineering club, teacher, and now also author of the handbook Majhni koraki, veliki vrhovi, which was published by Planinska založba.



The mountaineering handbook for parents and children from cradle to adolescence is a professional, life-like and practical handbook for family mountaineering, edited by Mateja Pate, Urška ingeniously arranged the contents and laws of safe and healthy movement in nature in it, and her personal experiences give it special weight. "Today children have a flood of sports available, where parents take them for one hour and come to pick them up, but mountaineering is a long-distance run, it teaches children perseverance, which they greatly lack in today's time. The hills gradually instill it in children, and if they can grit their teeth a little in the hills, they will also know how to persevere in other life circumstances," we can agree with the experienced guide and mentor.

With structured recommendations for visiting the mountains according to the child's age period, from infant to teenager, the handbook is indispensable in raising children into independent mountaineers, while Urška impresses upon parents: "We must not live our desires through children - they must find their own path. There also come moments when they are not in the hills as much as we would like, and there is nothing wrong with that. If we have given them the message that the hills are a good way to relax, calm down, to weave deeper bonds, sooner or later they all return - in one form or another, as mountaineers, alpinists, perhaps as trail markers."



The handbook is pioneering in the field of family mountaineering in the sense of systematic treatment of visiting the mountains with a child in the first four years of his life, and while reading we feel Urška's personal experience of mountaineering from pregnancy to accompanying her oldest adolescent. "What seems most important to me is that gradualness is presented in the handbook. Let us be aware that for children the goal is not important, but the experience, the focus is on socializing on the way. A family mountaineering outing should be time for the child, not for realizing one's own goals and desires, so we adapt. As parents we do the most by giving children a nice experience," emphasized Urška Petek.

A mother of four children and mentor of a mountaineering group knows well that every period brings its challenges, also with motivation, so she has a full bag of good ideas: "Children differ, someone likes animals, another the mountain hut with snack and playground, a third is pleased by a lake at the end of the outing - it's nice to find something that motivates the child, younger ones can also be encouraged with some cartoon heroes or fun fairy tales. With older ones it is important to find them company. Children get to know each other within mountaineering clubs and mountaineering families can also connect privately for a joint outing, as this way you motivate children more easily. For even older boys, motivation can be that they can go to the hills themselves, that they find the right path and procure food themselves."



Regarding the choice of mountaineering destinations, Urška's husband Marko Petek added: "As parents we must know our own limits and the limits of the child's abilities, so the choice of destination is easier. For a mountaineering outing with children we choose less demanding mountaineering destinations or adapted to the age and abilities of the children. We must choose them with the awareness that the children can manage them, and gradually choose tours from easier to more difficult. We do not look at what others are doing, as advice can sometimes mislead us. A good choice are family-friendly mountain huts and corners, where there are fewer other mountaineers, so that children are not disruptive and have space to play."



Petek, both from the perspective of a father and vice-president of the mountaineering club, assesses that it is important to raise young mountaineers and pass on mountaineering values to them: "We teach children by our example. Volunteering is in people. Today we live more and more individualistically, although in our essence we do not want that, as we are social beings. It is good to show children early the true meaning of mountaineering. Mountaineering teaches us teamwork, trust, perseverance and sociability. It teaches us to live. That is all we need in life."

If in the early years parents are the only guides and companions of children in the mountains, with older ones the company of friends already prevails. The hills enable deeper and more lasting friendships to be woven on mountaineering paths. "If I have company on an outing, I enjoy it much more and I prefer to go on a tour. Also on mountaineering camps, which I regularly attend from the age of four, company is always more important to me. It's nice that we can be together with friends in tents, have fun, laugh, talk, also on mountaineering outings and in free time after tours," said Urška's daughter, 14-year-old Lara Mijatović, a ninth-grader, who already passes on her mountaineering knowledge: "Last year we prepared orienteering for younger mountaineers with friends. On a tour I can help Nace and Meta at individual places, so they know where to hold on and where to step, I also entertain them with various games that are interesting to them, so they walk more easily."



Lara's, Meta's and Nace's brother Adi Mijatović is a high school student approaching adulthood and is also becoming independent in mountaineering, so he seeks different challenges in mountaineering. "To go with friends on multi-day tours. Later maybe also abroad, also to some higher peak. At camp we went bivouacking only boys and we prepared food and the place where we slept ourselves. We would like to do that together with friends, so that we organize everything ourselves," thinks the 17-year-old, who is also actively involved in the operation of PD Kamnik: "I would like to do a guide course and also help with leading camps for young people. Of course it's nice if there are more of us like that, because of the company, so we have it better and together come up with new ideas."