Martin Šolar new president of the Alpine Association of Slovenia

At the regular annual and electoral assembly of the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS), held on April 18 in Tolmin, Martin Šolar, who has been involved in the mountaineering organization for decades as a volunteer and honorary PZS guide, mountaineering education instructor, alpinist, and guardian of mountain nature, succeeded the previous president Jože Rovan at the helm of Slovenian mountaineers. The former PZS vice-president assumed the responsible leadership of one of Slovenia's largest volunteer organizations with over 64 thousand members with great support from the delegates of mountaineering societies. The vice-presidents for the 2026–2030 term will be Jožef Bobovnik, Mira Pirc, Andreja Senica, and Aleš Drekonja.

145 delegates from mountaineering societies gathered in Tolmin, making the assembly quorate with 48 percent attendance (one-third of delegates is required). For the new president of the Alpine Association of Slovenia for the 2026–2030 term, they elected Martin Šolar, who received 111 votes, while his opponent Damjan Debevec received 32 votes. Šolar thus became the fifteenth president in the 133-year history of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, one of Slovenia's largest non-governmental and volunteer organizations and the largest sports organization. Currently, 300 societies are members of PZS, and at the end of 2025, the umbrella mountaineering organization comprised 64,019 members of various age groups, representing three percent of Slovenia's total population.



Master of nature conservation and university-trained forestry engineer Martin Šolar, who was PZS vice-president for the last eight years, was also president of the Balkan Mountaineering Union (BMU) from 2019–2023, where he remains a member of the executive board. He is employed as director of the Kobariški Museum, previously serving as long-term director of Triglav National Park and director of the international nature conservation organization WWF Adria. As a member of PD Bohinjska Bistrica, he has been actively involved in the mountaineering organization for decades—as a volunteer PZS guide, honorary PZS guide, mountaineering education instructor, alpinist, and guardian of mountain nature; he was active in the Youth and Guiding Commission of PZS as well as in the Commissions for the Protection of Mountain Nature, Alpinism, and Education and Training of PZS. He is also an international mountain leader (UIMLA) and ambassador for the Julian Alps Biosphere Reserve.

The assembly also held elections for the new presidency as well as the management and supervisory boards of PZS. On the proposal of the new president Šolar, the current PZS vice-president Jožef Bobovnik, vice-president of PD Fram, long-time volunteer PZS guide and mountaineering education instructor, was confirmed as a member of the presidency, along with international sports climbing judge and alpinist Mira Pirc (PD Rašica), who has been involved for many years in the international climbing federation World Climbing, Andreja Senica, president of PD Bricnik Muta and the Inter-Society Board of Mountaineering Societies of Koroška in the previous term, and Aleš Drekonja, president of PD Preddvor and member of the PZS management board in the last term.



Among the ten candidates for seven members of the management board, the elected were Milena Brešan (PD Tolmin), Boštjan Nabergoj (PD Podnanos), Roman Ponebšek (PD Litija), Jakob Zupanc (PD Srednja vas v Bohinju), Darko Mandeljc (PD Javornik Koroška Bela), Marjana Brezovšek (PD Pohorje Zg. Polskava), and Rafael Krvina (PD Gorenja vas). Franc Ekar (PD Preddvor, former PZS president) was re-elected as chairman of the PZS Supervisory Board, and for members of the supervisory board: Valerija Vidmar (PD Krka Novo mesto), Brigita Čeh (PD Ljutomer), Peter Požun (PD Lisca Sevnica), and Nataša Kocjančič (PD Postojna).

"Thank you for the support. I have taken on great responsibility, but together we can do it - the strength of one is the strength of all. Among the priority tasks of the Alpine Association of Slovenia are increasing membership, an updated and more unified model of PZS management and operation, continuing work for systemic funding of the renovation and maintenance of mountain huts, continuing joint cooperation with partners within the Safe in the Mountains campaign, emphasis on training professional staff and promoting mutual recognition of competencies, and in the sports sense, a structured approach in alpinism, sports climbing, and other mountain sports," said Martin Šolar upon election and presented programmatic guidelines for the 2026–2030 term.



In the programmatic guidelines, among values and mission, he highlighted connection with mountains and nature, openness, inclusion and diversity, freedom, respect, and responsibility as core values, volunteering as the foundation of identity, and operation in the public interest. In the area of organization and membership, he will advocate for increasing and activating membership, strengthening the role of all societies and inter-society boards, managing mountaineering infrastructure, modernizing PZS management, and improving working conditions for all involved in PZS operations. In the area of people and knowledge, focus is on work with youth and cooperation with schools, development of leadership and training, emphasis on safety in the mountains, inclusion of older persons, inclusion of persons with special needs, and strengthening professional staff. For infrastructure and sports, he announces a strategy for building and renovating mountain huts, development and digitalization of mountain trails (PlanGIS, maPZS), development of alpinism, support for competitive and recreational sports climbing, national climbing center, and support for competitive ski touring. For the future and continuation of the set path, he emphasizes the importance of teamwork, sustainable development, and adaptation to climate change in the light of protecting mountain nature, modern communication (e-Planinski vestnik, cartography), international cooperation, and PZS as a modern and influential organization.

After eight years of successful presidency of Slovenia's largest sports organization, Jože Rovan, who led the mountaineering association from 2018, thanked the attendees for the trust in this position. He is proud that during his second term, PZS strengthened membership again, secured systemic funds for the renovation and maintenance of mountain trails—while systemic funds for maintaining mountain huts remain a challenge—and ensured progress in alpinism and sports climbing as well as upgrading the information system, highlighting the dedicated work of numerous volunteers in all this. Rovan remains in PZS as a member of the executive board of the PZS Mountain Trails Commission and active in the PZS Touring Cycling Commission and on the Slovenian Touring Cycling Trail.



The electoral assembly took place in a good working and constructive atmosphere, all submitted reports were approved, including the reports of PZS bodies for 2025 and the outline content and financial work program of PZS for 2027. The delegates of mountaineering societies also approved the sale of a 10-percent share of the Ribniška koča on Pohorje.

The PZS 2026 assembly was hosted by Planinsko društvo Tolmin, which this year celebrates the 130th anniversary of the establishment of the Soča Branch of the Slovenian Mountaineering Association (SPD) in Tolmin, the predecessor of today's society. The opening cultural program was enriched with song by the Oktet Simon Gregorčič, and on the importance of mountains and the mission of mountaineering spoke students from OŠ Franceta Bevka in Tolmin: Tinkara Ema Rutar, Vasja Bajt, Zala Rutar, and Vita Kravanja Čarga, as well as alpinist trainee Gašper Čopi and long-time member Cvetka Jug. Milena Brešan, president of PD Tolmin, one of Slovenia's most branched and active societies, and Mayor of the Municipality of Tolmin Alen Červ proudly greeted mountaineers from all over Slovenia in Posočje; the mayor emphasized that PZS is one of society's strongest pillars.



At the end of the assembly, PZS vice-president Jožef Bobovnik invited those present to Slovenian Mountaineers' Day 2026, which with a diverse program for mountaineers of all generations, ski tourers, and other nature lovers invites on June 13 to Ruška koča on Pohorje, on September 4 and 5 to the World Cup sports climbing competition in Koper, and on December 5 to the awarding of the highest PZS awards in Vrhnika. Head of the PZS Youth Commission Ana Skledar thanked everyone who helped create its history and invited them to a multitude of events for this year's 70th anniversary, among which the main ones are Gojzarfest on September 19 in Tivoli and the jubilee ceremony on October 16, also in Ljubljana. After the assembly, the mountaineers went to tour the museum collections of the Tolmin Museum.