Qualified guides a guarantee for...

Qualified guides a guarantee for safer mountain visits.

Organized and professionally guided tours are the best guarantee for safer exploration of the mountains, as volunteer guides of the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS) are aware of their mission, having been training under the umbrella of the umbrella organization for six decades. The opportunity to acquire knowledge and experience from various areas of mountaineering for independent movement in the mountains is a compelling invitation to mountain visitors to join one of the 287 mountaineering clubs and societies operating in Slovenia.



Volunteer guiding has a 60-year tradition in Slovenia. The Youth Commission (MK) of PZS organized the first course for youth guides in early August 1957, and since 2002, the Guiding Commission of PZS has been responsible for training guides according to uniform criteria and keeping up with innovations in the field of volunteer guiding. PZS guides are also qualified professional sports workers in the field of mountaineering, as their professional work—leading people through the mountains—is constantly intertwined with organizational club activities.



"Every activity of a PZS guide is also a learning process in which we train participants for independent movement in the mountains, which does not mean solo hiking, but preparing individuals to move in the mountains without guide accompaniment," emphasizes the head of the PZS Guiding Commission, Franc Gričar. "The role of the PZS guide is very important on guided tours of mountaineering societies, as they must ensure the safety of participants, teach them to use technical equipment where necessary, introduce them to the surroundings and curiosities such as flora, fauna, and cultural features, advise on equipment, and of course manage the group. Therefore, guides bear great responsibility, and the reward for all guides is a successfully completed tour and satisfied participants," adds the guide with 31 years of guiding experience, who has been a mountaineering education instructor for 23 years, under the auspices of the mountaineering societies Lisca Sevnica, Kum Trbovlje, and Zagorje ob Savi, or PZS, leading approximately 250 tours. PZS guides train on courses where they must demonstrate certain knowledge and experience and pass a test beforehand. They can obtain seven categories in which they acquire knowledge for guiding on marked easy, demanding, and very demanding rock and snow paths, off-trail routes, and ski touring descents; to obtain all, they must complete a total of 600 hours of training.



In addition to PZS guides, who volunteer in mountaineering societies and are united in the PZS Guiding Commission, professional mountain guides operating in the Association of Mountain Guides of Slovenia also engage in guiding in the mountains. "We mountain guides are members of the international IFMGA association, which is synonymous with the most demanding training in mountaineering. To join the training, one must pass entrance exams; the training lasts from four to eight years to obtain the title of mountain guide with an IFMGA license, recognized as a profession. We can guide anywhere in the world except in U.S. national parks, both summer and winter, all types of climbing and skiing, while also organizing trainings in climbing, skiing, avalanche safety, and providing safety for people on demanding production or construction projects," explains IFMGA mountain guide Rok Zalokar and adds: "The profession of mountain guide is highly respected, demanding, often dangerous; it is something you must do with heart and not just for profit. The brotherhood among guides is something special, regardless of age, nationality, or gender, as the mountains are our second home for up to 200 days a year."



In 2016, there were 1495 registered volunteer PZS guides actively operating in 210 mountaineering societies across Slovenia. Just over half (740) are over 50 years old, with (mostly) many years of guiding experience; just under half (589) are in the 30-50 age range, and there is great interest in guiding among the younger ones, as 166 guides aged 18-30 are currently active. According to a survey of mountaineering societies, more than nine thousand mountaineering activities, both one-day and multi-day, were conducted in societies in 2015, with PZS guides participating in most. Diverse mountaineering activities offer members of mountaineering societies both professionally guided and organized mountaineering trips as well as the company of like-minded nature lovers in their favorite activity.



The Alpine Association organized the first hiking course from August 6 to 10, 1957, thus training the first youth guides on the route from Bohinj via Triglav to Vrata, while the first course for mountaineering education instructors was in 1970 in Vrata. "Interestingly, the first course was in hiking form, which was original and well-designed. In addition to acquiring knowledge on the hike, we had lectures on mountaineering topics such as equipment, first aid, mountain hazards, marking, nature conservation, alpinism, and more. We had personal and mountaineering equipment as available at the time, and the fact is there were no accidents. Back then, the course participants were very attentive, friendly, disciplined, and committed to performing common tasks," recalls 85-year-old Jože Melanšek, a PZS member since 1948, who participated in the preparation and execution of the first hiking course, otherwise working for more than 22 years on educational actions of the PZS MK and more than 60 years as a volunteer guide in the mountaineering societies of the University of Ljubljana (now Academic Mountaineering Section), Šoštanj, and Velenje: "The central question was always how to organize a trip, hike, camp, course, to meet the needs and demands of education and improvement for safe hiking in the mountains and to train technically, organizationally, and educationally quality guides who respect the code of Slovenian mountaineers and are prepared and qualified to lead from the youngest to the oldest PZS members."



An accident in the mountains can happen to anyone, and even the most qualified individuals are no exception, but there are very few incidents on organized mountaineering activities among mountain rescue interventions. "If we look at the statistics of mountain accidents from January 1, 2010, to July 31, 2017, we can see that in Slovenia, there are few accidents or injuries among qualified personnel: 26 mountain rescuers, eight PZS guides, and four mountain guides. There are also few accidents on organized trips of mountaineering societies—we record 209; the statistics include all organized trips, if we single out only those within PD, there are 12. Of course, the numbers are not negligible, and we must not rest on our laurels, but strive to further reduce the number of injuries and accidents of professional personnel in the future. It is precisely the professionally trained mountaineering personnel who pass on their knowledge to everyday mountain visitors and thereby directly and indirectly contribute to reducing the number of accidents in the mountains. PZS guides and mountain guides with good cooperation, mountaineering education instructors, and alpine instructors are an investment for safer mountain visits," presents the eloquent statistics by PZS professional associate and GRZS instructor Matjaž Šerkezi, who advises: "Individuals who want to visit mountain peaks and experience the world of mountains in all its fullness, learn about mountain flowers, animals, the mountains surrounding them, but lack sufficient mountaineering knowledge themselves, should head to the mountains with professionally trained mountaineering personnel." Mountain rescuers have already recorded 277 accidents this year, 13 deceased individuals, 85 helicopter landings by the Slovenian Army and Police, and voluntary work by 1960 mountain rescuers who participated in interventions.



The Alpine Association of Slovenia and the Mountain Rescue Association of Slovenia, in cooperation and support from mountaineering societies and inter-society committees of PD, are constantly working with preventive activities to reduce the number of accidents in the mountains. Ahead of the expected higher mountain visitation in August, it is worth reading again the tips for safer mountain exploration and the recommendations of the Association of Alpine Mountaineering Organizations (CAA): Safe Hiking and Mountaineering, Safety on Very Demanding Mountaineering Paths, and Safe High Mountain Tours.



Good luck and safe steps! Let's also keep in mind that we are only halfway when we reach the summit—our goal is to get home safely.