I’ve just got back from a great trip to Slovenia, attending the Slovenian Mountain Film Festival in Ljubljana.
| Silvo Karo, one of Slovenia’s finest climbers founded and has organised this wonderful festival for the last seven years. I’m having breakfast with him and two of the judges. | 
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| I gave a lecture on some of my most memorable climbs to a really wonderful warm and receptive audience in a superb auditorium. | 
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| Ljubljana is a really lovely quiet city with the old centre traffic free. The citadel dominates the old town. | 
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| The view from the citadel. Where ever you are in the city you can see forest clad hills. | 
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| On Saturday Marco Prezelj, another superb climber took me round the Julian Alps. | 
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| We had hoped to climb Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia, but it was degging down with rain and covered in cloud. This is where we would have started walking in. | 
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| We had a fun day sight seeing. This is the excellent museum at the entrance to the Park | 
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| Had a look at a dramatic gorge… | 
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| and had lunch with Marco’s friend Ladko and family. Eating trout freshly caught from his pond and drinking excellent Pear … Schnapps followed by Slovenian white wine. | 
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| On Sunday, Silvo took me climbing on the crag above his home in Osp, near the coast below a superb crag. | 
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| The crag is called Stena, and the route we did is Medo – five pitches, up the gangway that stretches left to right from the middle of the crag and then straight up past the right of thr twin trees right of centre and on to the top. It’s graded 5c. | 
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| Silvo led the lot in fine style… | 
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| …and I was very happy to follow. It was the only, so called easy climb on the crag. The big wall to it left was 7b. | 
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| Looking down at the village from the top of the crag. Silvo’s house is the big conspicuous one to the left and just below the church tower. He bought it from the Church and originally it was a church guest house. He’s worked on it over the years to turn it into bunk accommodation for climbers with an apartment for himself It’s typical of how he’s worked tirelessly for the climbing community as well as putting up some superb routes all over the World.
Check out: |
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| Silvo drove me at 4.30 yesterday to the air port and at last I got a view of Triglav from the plane as I flew back to a rainy England. I’m coming back just as soon as I can – Slovenia really does have everything – mountaineering and adventure climbing in the Julian Alps, sport climbing, kayaking, great mountain walking and many other things beside. Most important of all a really friendly warm atmosphere. I made a lot of good friends in the four days I was there!!! | 
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