Podnanos and Idrija celebrated at the 29th national...

Podnanos and Idrija celebrated at the 29th national Youth and Mountains competition in Trzin.



Trzin was a real anthill of young mountaineers and their mentors on Saturday, January 20, at the 29th national Youth and Mountains competition, the most established mountaineering competition for young people testing knowledge, skills, and experiences from all areas and forms of mountaineering activities. The primary school victory was celebrated by the Fosili team from Podnanos, the local Obriti orli from Trzin were second, and third place went to Gorske košute from Tržič. In the high school category, Idrijci were once again unbeatable in the top four places: Gorske zjale, Beli ženi, Dva strašna majstra, and Diagonalista.



Youth and Mountains, which is both a knowledge competition and a sports competition since mountaineering equally combines both elements, is intended for primary school students from 6th to 9th grade, and high school students competed for the third time in a similar challenge. One of the most important competitions for popularizing mountaineering and a respectful attitude towards nature is also an opportunity for socializing and getting to know young mountaineers from all over Slovenia, who already demonstrated a lot of knowledge at the regional competitions in November 2017 in Lovrenc na Pohorju, Pivka, and Bled. In the town of last year's winners, where the Saturday atmosphere was dictated by enviable mountaineering knowledge and exuberant joy of 118 competitors, the 29th national MIG Trzin competition was organized by the Alpine Association of Slovenia, PZS Youth Commission, RS Planica Sports Institute, Mountaineering Association Onger Trzin, and Trzin Primary School, in whose premises the mountaineers eagerly viewed the exhibition Green Avalanche - yesterday, today, tomorrow: 70 years of regular observations of the Triglav Glacier.



For warming up before the competition, the children's choir of Trzin Primary School under the direction of Mateja Košir with musical accompaniment by Barbara Karba took care. The competitors were greeted by PZS Vice President Roman Ponebšek, Trzin Mayor Peter Ložar, acting principal of Trzin Primary School Jana Klopčič, president of PD Onger Trzin Emil Pevec, and competition coordinator Brigita Čeh. They were also visited by special guests - the most successful Slovenian alpinist in recent years, Nastja Davidova, and mountaineering legend Tone Škarja, for whose recent 81st birthday the youth sang.



Four-member primary school teams and two-member high school teams started the competition in the morning with tests of mountaineering knowledge, which the young people acquired in mountaineering clubs and through mountaineering activities. Six best teams qualified for the final part of the national primary school competition, where in a quiz format they answered questions from Mountaineering School and additional materials, had to identify rocks, and handle practical tasks in first aid and orientation.



Twenty teams competed for the title of national champions in the primary school category, with the top six in a live final that was a tough test of knowledge for everyone present. The new national champions became the competitors from the Fosili team (PD Podnanos, Draga Bajca Vipava Primary School), closely followed by last year's winners Obriti orli (PD Onger Trzin, Trzin Primary School), and third Gorske košute (PD Tržič, Tržič Primary School). Fourth place went to Litijski orli (PD Litija, Litija Primary School), fifth to Drzne mušnice (PD Bled, Prof. Dr. Josip Plemlj Bled Primary School), and sixth to Nanoške polente (PD Postojna, Miroslav Vilhar Postojna Primary School).



Primary school winners Jerneja and Lucija Trošt, Eva Ivana Fabčič, and Hana Furlan, who named their team Fosili, could hardly believe they had become national champions: "We can't believe we won! Podnanos usually didn't even qualify for the final, so we're even happier about the victory. We've been competing in Youth and Mountains for four or three years, this is the second time in this lineup. We didn't even realize how much we knew, but the knowledge has really settled in over these years. We reviewed the literature with mentors, repeated on our own, we're active in the mountaineering association, we attend mountaineering camps and trips every year, and this practical knowledge and experience come in handy at the competition too." The Primorska girls were honed under the watchful eye of mentor Anita Trošt, proud of the joint mountaineering success: "The girls have been competing at the national level for four years, and even though they hadn't reached the final before, the acquired knowledge certainly helped them win this year. We met once or twice a week, covered topics together, went out and gathered practical knowledge. Connecting theory and field knowledge, which they also gain every summer at the mountaineering camp, is very important."



At the third Youth and Mountains competition for high schoolers in Trzin, 19 high school teams competed. The top eight in a separate final demonstrated knowledge of meteorology, first aid, and mountaineering from A to Z through more difficult practical tasks. Once again, competitors from PD Idrija were unbeatable, celebrating the top four places: the duo Gorske zjale defended last year's victory, second place went to Beli ženi, third to Dva strašna majstra, and fourth to Diagonalista. Fifth place to Dvema Mojcama (PD Postojna), sixth to Glupi duo Lama (PD Litija), seventh to Dvema Bedancema (PD Postojna), and eighth to Navihanima planinkama (PD Podnanos).



That high school laurels are the fruit of years of work was shown by the Idrija mountaineers, who once again took all the top places. For the second time in a row, Klara Kavčič and Barbara Čibej, who named themselves Gorske zjale, won; they were already members of the national champion team as primary schoolers. "At the Youth and Mountains competition, you have to show broad mountaineering knowledge, which we build upon with real-world experiences. We attend our association's camps and trips, we go to the mountains more and more on our own, with family and friends, with whom we also socialize at camps and prepare together for the competition. Four of us successfully passed the youth leaders' exam in the last year and now help in the association, including organizing winter camps or other events," the high school girls summed up their impressions in the circle of their mountaineering friends. In Idrija, a generation of young mountaineers is being forged who know how to comprehensively grasp and demonstrate mountaineering knowledge, for which credit goes to the dedicated mentor and president of PD Idrija Nacet Breitenberger: "Under Austria-Hungary, when Idrija miners built the first theater house in Slovenia, they reportedly said at Maria Theresa's court: Something like this can only happen in Idrija! This may still hold true if I think of today's success. Young people need to be brought into our mountaineering ranks early; once they sense how beautiful nature and mountains are, they follow us. Of course, not just one or two, but if there's a group, we nurture it, water it, and it grows. It takes a lot of effort, also from their side, as they showed excellent knowledge, but they need guidance and direction, because in mountains and hills there's a lot of joy, but you have to know when it's serious. Four have already been on the youth leaders' course, and we hope they become our mountaineering guides too."



The main authors of the questions seeking useful mountaineering knowledge were PZS mountain guide Urška Trček and PZS expert collaborator Damjan Omerzu. The best teams were awarded with a mountaineering camp at the Mountaineering Education Center Bavšica, trophies and medals, and all participants with practical prizes. The victory in the art competition titled My Dream Mountain went to Jure Čibej from Idrija, and the selected competition logo was created by local Lara Pevec.