More than two thousand mountain lovers on Rogla

All paths led to Rogla on June 16, 2018, where mountaineering, mountain biking, climbing, path marking, mountain rescue, nature conservation, creative and research experiences brought more than two thousand adults, young people and the youngest hikers, mountain bikers, climbers and other mountain and nature lovers from all over Slovenia and beyond its borders. The joyful crowd thus traditionally stepped into the summer mountaineering season.



Hiking is one of the most popular leisure activities of Slovenes, which brings more and more tourists to the sunny side of the Alps. According to the latest data, Slovenian mountains are visited by 1.7 million visitors annually, more than two thousand of them gathered on Rogla at the traditional start of the summer mountaineering season. The Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS), which is celebrating 125 years of organized mountaineering this year, has been celebrating the day of Slovenian hikers for 36 years. For the seventh year, under the umbrella of the Day of Slovenian Mountaineering Experiences, the program has been enriched with all-day events for visitors of all generations, in the organization of which PZS, the Mountaineering Association (PD) Zreče, which is celebrating 60 years this year, and the Municipality of Zreče joined forces.



All paths of hikers and mountain bikers who chose Zreče, Vitanje, Mislinja or Oplotnica as starting points led to Rogla on the third Saturday in June, mostly in the company of PZS guides, some set out to meet the experiences on their own. The most visited the picturesque Lovrenška jezera, many went on a hike along the Škratec educational trail and climbed the viewpoint tower. In the vicinity of Hotel Planja, diverse experiences enthused old and young. The hustle at the climbing wall did not stop, it was lively in the creative workshops, the Happy Mountaineering School entertainingly presented mountain nature conservation to all generations, participants learned about the work of path markers who voluntarily maintain a network of more than ten thousand kilometers of hiking trails in Slovenia, and mountain rescuers from the GRS Celje and Maribor associations who selflessly save lives in the mountains. They also stopped with interest at the stands where the mountaineering association and local associations and companies presented themselves. During the Week of Lifelong Learning, the working group Mountaineering for the Disabled/OPP presented the project Deaf Serve in Mountain Huts, which they will implement on September 22 and 23.



In the green expanse of Rogla, the mountaineering anthem Oj, Triglav, moj dom performed by Marjan Hren sounded as an introduction to the main event, the all-Slovenian holiday was honored with a solemn procession by flag bearers of 60 mountaineering associations. Welcome was wished to the joyful crowd of hikers from near and far by the President of the Alpine Association of Slovenia Jože Rovan, proud that so many hikers gathered at the Slovenian mountaineering holiday, united by love for nature and mountains, and socializing means a lot to them too – on hiking trails, in mountain huts, at camps and such events, the President of PD Zreče Matjaž Korošec, enthusiastic about the crowd on Rogla that came from so many different places, and the Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Zreče Drago Šešerko, who in the heart of Pohorje greeted mountaineering Slovenia and invited it to return to these areas. The bellows of the accordion were cheerfully stretched by the talented young man Jakob Tojnko, the host Danijel Oplotnik also proved himself as an imitator of the Pohorje poet and actor Jurij Vodovnik, it smelled of Pohorje pot, the Žurerji ensemble took care of the real mountaineering fun.



That happiness is in meeting, the satisfied faces of the participants of the day of Slovenian hikers prove again and again, which traditionally also marks the beginning of the main mountaineering season. This until mid-September attracts the most visitors to the mountains, also thanks to the hospitable mountain huts, most of which are already open, the remaining high mountain ones will be by the end of June. The pulse of the summer months will be co-shaped by the selection for the best mountain hut 2018 on the Siol.net web portal. Safe, secure and experiential on the hiking trails was wished to the gathered hikers for farewell by the president of the mountaineering association Jože Rovan.