The idea of writing a blog has been appearing in our daily conversations for some time now as a possibility of creating a collection of our adventures; traveling, hiking, trekking, cycling, paddling and all the other activities we so much enjoy. And of course it has always just stayed in our minds and very little in the written texts.
Now that we have decided to change that and when something really needs to be written for the first time, starting from a scratch, the problem is to decide where to start and what story is good to start with. How to introduce ourselves? What will the first impression be like? Which photos to post? How to express our passion through written text? The latter is definitely the most difficult one.
After those millions of questions that mostly just float in our heads we have decided that it might be best to start with something that is the freshest in our memory.
Well, the last one in my memory is also what it all started with – fate or not, the first post I have chosen to write is about the recent ascent which was also our first alpine ascent more than a decade ago – with almost identical result and the twists and turns it also brought in the first time. OK, maybe I was a bit dramatic but it might still be interesting 😊.
I will try not to overwhelm with the facts about lengths, heights, directions and similar information that can be found everywhere, because this is not that kind of a blog – or at least at this moment I do not see that it should be. But I will definitely mention some basic facts, techniques and side instructions which may be useful in the case of tour planning.
Which mountain has received this honor of being our first alpine excursion more than a decade ago, but also the last one we were on 2 weeks ago (February 8, 2020)? It is the Julian Alps in neighboring Slovenia and the mountain is Debeli vrh (2390 meters above sea level), located in the Bohinj mountains north of Lake Bohinj and can be reached from several sides. However, the popular route is from Blato mountain (1147m), which is reached by an asphalt road from Stara Fuzina, not far from the lake. Usually it is completely inaccessible at this time of year but because of the mild winter the road is dry, which means the climb can begin!
We did not start the year particularly strong in terms of form and condition – actually, we did not finish the year particularly strong so we’re now paying the price. There were all kinds of problems, from health to free time and weather and experience has shown us that the only way to stay in shape for the mountains is to hike regularly, as often as you can.
With that in mind, we didn’t set high goals for ourselves – or maybe we did because at the end of the day, it was a 15-kilometer round trip with about 1600m of altitude in each direction, plus a snowy climb through the forest section, an icy slope obstacle and a short couloir for the end…
We knew that we were not ready but from everything we looked at in the guides, maps and the usual websites my desire for something more demanding prevailed over hers for some longer walk in the snow and collecting the form and taking photos of the peaks (this is usually accompanied by my obligatory whining how it should have been us, as we watch other people climb somewhere more demanding) 😁.
The direction is Blato – Planina v Lazu and the forest is not easy at all. We are struggling with slippery terrain right from the start, completely icy and free of snow, but also the desire to maintain speed and pace to eliminate any doubt as soon as possible whether or not we will reach the top today.
We make a mistake at the beginning because of several downed trees that point us to the other side and turn towards Planina pri Jezeru. We have not been there for years so it’s not so bad outcome at the end. We take a brief look at the map and see that there is a crossroads at the Planina pri Jezeru mountain hut. After an hour we are there and we catch our further direction and rush to our today’s destination. The obligatory photographing of the valley and the surrounding peaks of Kredna, Slatna and Ogradi slows us down for a moment, but it is worth it. As always, there is my eternal enthusiasm that maybe once we will get to climb the couloir between Kretna and Slatna (these are the mountains that from their south side do not reveal the wild side hiding from the northeast) and we have not even started today’s hike as we should have 😄. The usual me and the usual roll of her eyes, and again the usual mine sentence “I will go there when I go alone or when you’re on the business trip” (on the fingers of one hand I can count those climbs without her 😄) and we are already in a good mood!
About an hour from the Planina pri Jezeru mountain hut we reach the shepherds’ huts of Planina v Lazu where we have an incredible view of the huge rock wall of pre-summit of Debeli vrh and the nearby Ogradi.
The path takes us between those two mountains, the sun is at its peak, and the snow is moving from the soft one to the one for which without crampons one cannot go forward. We put on crampons, soon we replace the walking sticks with ice axes and we climb and climb. The winter rises, temperatures get lower and a decreace of energy is already felt. The wind starts at around 2100m above the sea level and there are more and more ice surfaces up here. However, entering the shadow of Debeli Vrh reveals an incredible view in the distance: from Kanjavec to Triglav, Rjavina, Vernar, Veliki Draški Vrh and Tosc to nearby Hribarice, Škednjovec, Mišelj vrh, Adam, Eva and Jezerski stog.
We reach the valley behind Debeli vrh quite spent – we can feel that we have not been in the Alps for three months and even less in wintertime. We dress up with everything we have and plan on how to cross a very awkward slope until entering the couloir. She already doubts her strength and after the initial 30 meters of the traverse, upon arriving on a very awkward, steep and slippery ice slope, she decides she is done for today and returns safely. I continue for a bit because I want to at least see the entrance to the couloir. It’s really icy at times and I need to be as concentrated as possible – one leg, the other leg, stroke after stroke with the ice axe into clear ice, all the way to where I stop to catch my breath and see the entrance to the couloir.
I see that couloir is nothing to be afraid of. I reckon I can reach the top but as I also feel the energy drop I can’t do it fast enough that she doesn’t wait for more than an hour and turns into an iceberg 😄. I decide to turn around and go back to her. I can’t take any photos because the wind is blowing brutally and I have to come back safely over a very difficult traverse.
I overcome the traverse with a lot of effort and with that damn disappointment of not reaching the top, aware that you have to make those decisions if you are going to still be alive for a while. After all, there is no such sweetness in the climb unless we reach the top together – so why force it.
We briefly exchange disappointment about our poor form and how we needed to get ready or choose another summit or… whatever we say now we still can’t get past that first disappointment. We take pleasure in photographing the wonders of nature around us, and of course I urge that we go at least to Predvrh (pre-summit). It is not complicated technically but you still need strength for it (the slope is between 35-50 degrees). And so we go for the last attempt, we push, tired and with low energy level and we know that is not going to happen today. Again, I estimate that I can do it, but I see that she is struggling and is tired and we make the final decision – this is it for today.
We take photos downhill as well – it’s impossible to constantly stop and enjoy the day – and yet, we didn’t climb, what the hell – how to escape from that feeling?! In any case we are rather exhausted, pausing briefly to refresh ourselves with dates and almonds and continuing on to Planina v Lazu. Again a snowy forest that steals time, nerves and strength but we know that dry clothes, a bowl of pasta with chicken and spinach and a cold beer is waiting for us in our warm car – so life is easier with that in mind. By the time we got to the car the wounds were healed – we would climbthis mountain another time. We are happy with the training and the beautiful day, life is beautiful again, everything is great so where are we going next weekend?! 😅
I mentioned at the beginning that this was also our first alpine ascent once upon a time, when we were in our twenties, completely naive and inexperienced. This mountain similarly disappointed us then but we were aware at the time that we had no experience, strength or knowledge to try anything like this at all. In the end, it turned out to be a wonderful walk in the snow with indescribable views and a feeling for the mountains which has not disappeared since!
In any case, we still have a debt to this mountain and we will surely return again!
