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jrenee
Trad climber
All over the States
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 8, 2007 - 04:23pm PT
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Has anyone climbed in Slovenia?
I am doing a trek through Europe, and a friend keeps telling me to go there. Has anyone been, or does anyone want to go?
Joni
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Post a TR if you go. My great-grandparents were from Slovenia (then Austria), and I've always wanted to visit.
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frodolf
climber
Sweden
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I haven't been there, but I've got friends who went there a couple of years ago. They made a road trip through eastern europe. I don't remember what they said about Slovenia exactly, but I do remember them getting back home with loads of great storys and experiences from awesome climbing all over eastern Europe.
Watch out a little though, at some places around there the ethics of climbing can be really hardcore! My friends told me of a place - can't remember where now, could've been Slovenia - where it was prohibited BY LAW to belay with metal; knots and slings only. If you're hoping to avoid Slovenian prison, I suggest you check with the locals about the ethic code of that area.
Have fun!
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wiclimber
Trad climber
devil's lake, wi
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I have climbed in Slovenia and know a bit about it.
What type of climbing are you looking for?
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Borut
climber
french
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frodolf, there are no such prohibitions in Slovenia. Your friends may have spoken of the Saxonian Elbe sandstone towers (in southeast Germany, close to ths Czech border). There are laws there concerning when and how one climbs. This is due to the non compactness of that sandstone. It should be left alone when wet. As additional protection to the installed rings (which are ca 15m apart), one may only use the 'Saxonian knots', balls of rope that one stuffs into a crack. No metal, or anything hard which would damage the rock. I myself only visited the Saxonian towers, but my son extensively climbed there. Great stuff!
Concerning Slovenia, here are two fun TRs I recently posted (more to come, I hope) :
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Slovenia-a-morning-trip-to-268-rni-Kal-crags/t11725n.html
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1967813/TR-No-tooling-along-Sava
Borut
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wallyvirginia
Trad climber
Stockholm, Sweden
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I've been there and have friends from there.
It's insanely beautiful (lord of the rings style). The rock is mostly sedimentary and quite fragile, trad climbing is rare in most places. Alpine is great though, lots of ice and spectacular snow gulleys to climb in winter.
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Borut
climber
french
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Hi wallyV
What did you climb? just curious
Borut
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Borut
climber
french
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trad climbing is rare ...depends what you call trad.
There are no bolts on alpine. So you have to deal with the pins, some old some new. We essentially place as little *as possible*... climb as much on friends and webbing as it goes.
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wallyvirginia
Trad climber
Stockholm, Sweden
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Hi Borut. Unfortunately didn't climb when I was there. Just travelled around with my family.
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Borut
climber
french
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What do the friends climb?
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wallyvirginia
Trad climber
Stockholm, Sweden
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Anything. They live in Kranj and are "students" (climbing bums). Met them rock climbing in Norway and they've been back to climb ice with me in Sweden etc. I don't know the names of any specific climbs in Slovenia if that's what you're asking.
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Borut
climber
french
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Cool
I was asking because you stated that trad is rare. So I wondered where you got the idea from. Hope i didn't sound too defensive though.
But there's a lot of bolted crags for sport/rock summer climbing, yes! (there's ice but not enough and it usually is around for not too long)
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wallyvirginia
Trad climber
Stockholm, Sweden
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No worries.
The "trad is rare in most places" statement was based on what I've seen, read and heard from actual climbers. But like I also stated, there are alpine routes.
Zunaj.si is my friends web page, lot's of good articles and pictures. Check it out!
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Borut
climber
french
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Done checking out, to some point. Thumbs up to Norway.
On the limestone walls in Slovenia, the alpine routes are trad, adding pins if necessary, but no bolts.
Edit: checked out a little further. Nice blog Zunaj.si. As far as alpine (trad) routes in Slovenia are concerned, I see only very little though.
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jaaan
Trad climber
Chamonix, France
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I climbed on two big limestone crags at Osp - just near the Italian border at Trieste. One seems to go under the name of Osp and the other Misjca Pec (spelling?). Osp crag offers hard bolted routes and MP VERY hard! I tried adding a Google map link but it didnt work. Google it.
Also climbed on Triglav which was loose trad terrain...
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, melissa... will have to find out what small town, as it was, that my grandfolks were from... and compare notes with yours, :)
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Borut
climber
french
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jaaan, HERE is a cool TR about the Osp Wall, by Michael, a climbing pal of mine.
(bolted MP)
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jaaan
Trad climber
Chamonix, France
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Borut: Thanks for that. Just read the TR, looking at the Osp topo at the same time. Yes, I know this route but I don't think I've done it. I think I may have done the Internacionala in 1998. In fact that was the second time I climbed at Osp, the first being in 1982 with a friend from Ljubljana. I'd been to a climbing meet at Paklenica a month or so earlier. At the time, Slovenian and Croatian - or I should say Yugoslav - climbers were just beginning to accept free climbing. Let's say there was a good deal of reluctance from some, but it was totally embraced by others - and so my friend wanted to free climb everything. We threw ourselves at Netopir. I remember she used aid on one pitch which I followed free, then I used aid on another and she followed it free. So at the top we'd achieved a sort of team free ascent... well, almost! Later that week we went to Triglav and did Ljublanska free, only to find it was the second free ascent.
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Borut
climber
french
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Thanks jaaan. Paklenica in the 1980s! Great!
Yup, Ljubljanska on Triglav N was freed in 1980 (I.Tomazin). Good on you for being there in those years!
Here is some Osp eye candy, pitch 3 of Stara (pitches 3 and 4 have not yet been freed):
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