With Knowledge to the Stars - Winter on K2

Slovenian alpinists in 1979 in Nepal wrote two stories with a capital letter - they reached the summit of Everest via a new route and with the school for Nepalese mountain guides in Manang, they opened the doors to a brighter and safer tomorrow for the locals. The bilingual monograph With Knowledge to the Stars: Slovenian School for Nepalese Mountain Guides, conceived and edited by Mojca Volkar Trobevšek, is dedicated to the visionary Aleš Kunaver and to the instructors and doctors who for 40 years voluntarily shared their knowledge, experiences, and time, contributing to Nepal today being a touristically developed country with excellently educated guides and top alpinists. They independently pass on their knowledge to new generations and write alpinistic history, as half of the ten first ascenders who last year succeeded in the first winter ascent of the second highest mountain in the world, K2, were former trainees of the Slovenian school in Manang. The presentation of the book from the Planinska založba and a discussion with the creators will be on February 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the 16th Mountain Film Festival in Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana.

The first Yugoslav alpinistic Himalayan expeditions Trisul 1960, Kangbachen 1965, and Annapurna 1969 were a springboard for further great successes of Slovenian alpinists in the Himalayas, while the first ascent of Makalu (8463 m) via the south face in 1975 under the leadership of Aleš Kunaver marked the definitive breakthrough of Slovenian alpinism to the world alpinistic top. Kunaver was also aware of the responsibility towards the locals, so as a sign of gratitude, he decided to establish a school for Nepalese mountain guides in Manang, thereby giving up leading the alpinistic expedition to Everest and handing it over to Tone Škarja. "Everest is a goal, the school is a mission. The expedition is completed at the end, but the school is something permanent," the mission prevailed with Kunaver. "Mission is a word written multiple times in this book. Volunteerism, helping another without expecting repayment, out of good will and for a better life of fellow humans, is a value that we encounter again and again in the testimonies of the school's collaborators. The stories of instructors and doctors offer insight into the intimate experience of the country, the school, and the students, and their example invites imitation. The book teaches us that the decision for good is often difficult, the realization strenuous, but the result magnificent. Just as magnificent is the 40-year international humanitarian project that several generations of Slovenians have proudly lived and carried out. For their work, they deserve deep respect and gratitude, and with this book, we wish to preserve their work in eternal memory," the editor Mojca Volkar Trobevšek accompanies the book With Knowledge to the Stars: Slovenian School for Nepalese Mountain Guides on its way to readers.

Slovenian alpinists in 1979 in Nepal wrote two stories with a capital letter. On May 13, 1979, Andrej Štremfelj and Nejc Zaplotnik as the first Slovenians stepped on Everest, the highest mountain in the world, two days later the summit via a new route was reached by Slovenian Stane Belak - Šrauf, Croatian Stipe Božić, and Nepalese Ang Phu. In the same year, from August 23 to October 12, 1979, the first training of locals took place in the still unfinished school building in Manang, attended by 25 trainees, led by four Slovenian instructors: Dr. Jože Andlovic, Danilo Cedilnik - Den, Aleš Kunaver, and Nejc Zaplotnik, with two Nepalese instructors participating. The official opening of the school was on November 13, 1980. Numerous instructors and doctors for 40 years selflessly and voluntarily shared their knowledge, experiences, and time, each contributing their piece to making Nepal today a touristically developed country with excellently educated guides and top alpinists who independently pass on their knowledge to new generations.

"Is there anywhere else in the world an international project that lasted 40 years - and all the time based on volunteerism - and that so decisively influenced the economy of the country to which the help was intended? Aleš obtained money for a developing country, and today Nepal is a tourist superpower. The school in Manang has always remained a mission and became the cradle of a new, better life in the country under the highest mountains. Many former ordinary porters are today successful mountain guides, owners of tourist agencies, or have continued their education and obtained international licenses," emphasizes Aleš's wife and co-author of the book Dušica Kunaver, adding: "For all 40 years, the Planinska zveza Slovenije was the umbrella organization of all events at the school in Nepal. The Slovenian school for Nepalese mountain guides brought great prestige to our country in the world alpinistic arena, and the book With Knowledge to the Stars is a precious monument to this school and actions that must not be forgotten."

The Slovenian-English monograph from Planinska založba With Knowledge to the Stars is dedicated to Aleš Kunaver, all leaders, instructors, doctors, and supporters of the 40-year operation of the Slovenian school for mountain guides in Nepal. Vivid accounts by Aleš and Dušica Kunaver testify in the book about the visionary's dreams and the alpinistic training of locals in the Nepalese Himalayas from idea to execution. The school for Sherpas is recalled by instructor on the first and second course Danilo Cedilnik - Den. Vladimir Habjan talked with Peter Markič, head of the school in the years 1985-1994, and Mojca Volkar Trobevšek with Bojan Pollak, head of the school from 1995 onwards, and doctor and instructor Damijan Meško. International cooperation was outlined by Croatian instructor Vladimir Mesarić - Dado, glimpses from the school in Manang by instructors Vlado Schlamberger and Darja Jenko. How they became among the first Nepalese mountain guides was described by Zimba Zangbu Sherpa and Namgyal Zangbu Sherpa, and that a Nepalese prince was also on the course was noted by instructor Marjan Kregar. Bojan Pollak paid tribute to the memory of the visionary and great man among the Sherpas Da Gombu Sherpa, the memories of training Nepalese mountain guides were summarized by the last Slovenian alpinistic instructor in Manang Jani Bele. Doctor Anda Perdan wrote about the call for help, top alpinist and instructor Andrej Štremfelj shared his view on the school in Manang, and instructor Matjaž Šerkezi reflected on the key to solving the problem. The mission of the film Mission was revived by director Matjaž Fistravec, and that this mission is essentially a kind of love was highlighted in his account by alpinist, publicist, expedition leader and organizer Tone Škarja. The mosaic book is enriched by numerous photographs from Manang, sketches and plans about the school's creation, a short history of Slovenian Himalayanism in the period of Aleš Kunaver, the curriculum of the school for mountain guides, and a list of instructors and doctors in the school by years.

"In the entire story of the Slovenian school for Nepalese mountain guides, which Aleš Kunaver started, the most fascinating is the development of events and the progress that happened: in 1979, when Slovenian instructors first came to Manang, the trainees came to the course poorly equipped, some barely shod, some even barefoot. Good forty years later, their descendants, who also trained in the Manang school, accomplished a top alpinistic ascent, the first winter ascent of the second highest mountain in the world, K2. The contribution of the Slovenian school for mountain guides in Nepal is thus dual in nature - it contributed to the economic development of the country, as with empowered locals (high-altitude porters, owners of trekking agencies ...) mountain tourism could flourish, and Nepalese also developed into top alpinists with the help of Slovenian knowledge, now keeping pace with foreign nations that have long been conquering their peaks," highlights the book editor Mojca Volkar Trobevšek. Among the ten first ascenders who on January 16, 2021, succeeded in the historic feat, the first winter ascent of the second highest peak in the world K2 (8611 m), half were former trainees of the Slovenian school in Manang.

In the Slovenian school for Nepalese mountain guides, from 1979 to 2013, they conducted 28 courses, in which they passed basic alpinistic knowledge to 911 people, and in the first 17 courses also guiding knowledge. The courses were conducted by 112 different instructors and doctors: from Slovenia 56 (some multiple times), Nepal 41 (some multiple times), Croatia 6, France 2, Canada 2, India 1, Germany 1, Serbia 2, and Switzerland 1. The Nepalese themselves conducted a few more courses; there were 1129 trainees in total. Individual courses lasted from 33 to 44 days. According to data from the Nepal Mountaineering Association, up to and including 2013, 1111 trainees attended the courses, and up to and including 2019, a total of 1389. Our instructors and doctors participated in the training of 927 trainees. When in 1984 Kunaver's path stopped on a flight towards Triglav, the school in Manang also lost its founder and leader after five years. The helm of the school was then taken over by his alpinist friends - the next decade it was led by Kranj alpinistic instructor and psychologist Peter Markič, then for 25 years by Kamnik alpinistic instructor and mountain rescuer Bojan Pollak, an excellent pedagogue and long-time collaborator of the Planinska zveza Slovenije.

Bojan Pollak was a member of three Himalayan expeditions, and in the school for mountain guides in Manang, he was eight times, once as an instructor and seven times as course leader. "This story fulfills me in a way, tells me that we did right, that we were useful, that life did not slip through my selfish fingers. Who was it that said the meaning of life is in acting also for others and not just for oneself? Not everyone is for everything, not everyone can do everything well, excellently. Not everyone is created to be a good doctor, rescuer, engineer, teacher, etc. Everyone can learn a certain profession, but only those who find themselves in that profession can perform it well. Therefore, not everyone can be suitable for an instructor in this school. Not everyone feels the essence of this school. This is not just training, transfer of knowledge and experiences. This is truly a kind of mission that a person can become aware of only after some time," emphasizes the experienced connoisseur of Nepalese and Slovenian conditions, who took over the leadership of the school out of pure duty to continue the international project that was born out of necessity and continued out of love for the Nepalese person and out of the moral imperative that a person does what is right. To the question of what dough an instructor for the school in Manang must be made of, he answers: "I could say basically the same as all instructors. Above all, he should be an alpinist in soul and heart. Knowledge and experiences were certainly key. Himalayan experiences were very desirable, because that counted a lot with the Nepalese. Knowledge and experiences are actually the basis. But that was not enough. Love must also be present, inclination to teaching - passing on knowledge, experiences, love for the trainees - the same as with all good teachers, pedagogical workers. In addition, love for Nepal, for the local landscape, atmosphere, above all for the people. And of course, great adaptability, possibility of improvisations and the like."

"Hard life, great people, once said Da Gombu Sherpa, one of the instructors who collaborated a lot with Slovenians. Perhaps we are similar to them in some way here - a century-old tradition of Slovenian mountaineering, readiness and selfless voluntary help of members of the Planinska zveza Slovenije, a small nation from the country under the Alps, and on the other side a small country under the highest mountain range in the world, squeezed between the mighty states of China and India. In history, a constant struggle to preserve national identity, yet a smile on the face, happiness with a backpack on the shoulders and under the footsteps of mountain boots a path to the future," draws parallels between Slovenians and Nepalese the professional collaborator of PZS and mountain rescuer Matjaž Šerkezi, three times instructor and once course leader in Manang, who outlines the rapid mountaineering development of Nepalese: "In 2002, when I collaborated with them on my first course, the trainees had neither basic equipment nor knowledge, both organizational and technical. Two years later on the continuation course in Langtang, the knowledge was significantly better, the participants also already had mountaineering equipment with UIAA standard. If I jump to 2006, the knowledge was light years ahead. Individual instructors who were my trainees in 2002 were already training to be mountain guides and the key element that was not there before was noticeable - mountaineering was no longer just a source of livelihood for them, but they gained a status of respect with it and started to engage in climbing also as amateurs. They dreamed of walls, thought about icefalls they would like to climb, and about peaks they would like to ascend as the first Sherpas. And precisely these guys who in distant 2006 were gaining first experiences and dreaming, as individuals do in our alpinistic schools, ascended in winter conditions in January 2021 to the second highest mountain in the world K2."

Doctors were also indispensable on the courses in Manang, who were at the same time a traveling clinic for locals. "As a doctor on the course, you were a teacher - first aid instructor and all the time on standby if someone got sick or injured. The presence of a doctor contributed to the sense of greater safety for all participants. Learning first aid included theoretical and practical parts. It was supported by experiences, with emphasis on prevention, on conditions that endanger human life, altitude sickness, and conditions related to cold. The most common health problems among participants were colds, headaches, intestinal problems, once also pneumonia. Locals from surrounding villages most often came because of headaches, heartburn, problems with spine, knees, and skin infections," recalls Anda Perdan, the last Slovenian doctor who participated in the course in Manang: "The last course or the last chapter of this noble Slovenian mission in Nepal, which was exactly on the 40th anniversary of the school's founding, I experienced with deep gratitude and awareness that I represent Slovenia. It was especially precious to me to see the fruits of the work of Slovenian instructors, independent Nepalese instructors, trainees eager for knowledge, and that the humanitarian purpose of the school is being realized further."

The presentation of the book about the Slovenian school for Nepalese mountain guides, published with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, and a discussion with the creators will be on Friday, February 18, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. at the event With Knowledge to the Stars at the 16th Mountain Film Festival in Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana.