Have you climbed Mt Triglav

I never got any replies but am happy to report we made it to the top. We chose our route carefully to minimize the vie ferrata part. We left Rudno Polje at 9 and reached Planika Dom at 1:30. We dropped the things we didn't need at the Dom as we were returning to spend the night. We left there at 1:45 . Very quickly the route became more climbing than hiking. There were railings on the most dangerous parts but the exposure was intense. Basically an abyss on both sides of the narrow trail. Going over Mali Triglov to reach Triglov summit is an experience this 60 year old grandma will never forget. We reached the summit at 3:30 and had it to ourselves for half an hour. Then came the hard part...getting down safely. We reached Planika at 5:30 and enjoyed visiting with everyone. Slept and then hiked down
Tips:

We took climbing harnesses but did not use them. We wore them but it just seemed awkward to use them and neither one of us felt it was necessary.

Most people we talked to spend the night at the hut and then summit. We preferred going up the first day. However it was over 5000 feet elevation gain so know your abilities before deciding.

There is no way to avoid the via ferrata part after the Dom. The only way to reach the top is a narrow ridge with a series of railings and hand holds. Not for people who don't like heights.

Given the response to my question, I doubt anyone is reading this. However if you found this by searching the site and are considering going feel free to PM me for more details and tips. If this 60 year olds can make it, so can you.

I applaud you! We will be viewing the Mt. Triglav next week. No climbing for me. So will be thinking of you when we visit Slovenia.

Well done, Connie! Congratulations on making it to the top, I've yet to attempt the summit, hopefully I'll manage next year. Are there any exposed sections without railings? I generally feel safe if there are railings on the path, it's the unprotected sheer drops that I have a problem with, even if the path itself is relatively easy.

Joining in with the applause! And another "Well Done"! I am glad you posted your experience here. You're an Amazing Grandma!

Greene099- I hope you enjoy your visit as much as we have. Andi -thanks for the applause. One of the reasons I felt comfortable with the elevation is that we climbed mount Elbert in Colorado in 2011. Similar elevation. Dejan: I am so glad you saw my post. I was planning on sending you a PM to let you know we made it and how much we are loving your beautiful Slovenia. Everyone is so nice. There were exposures without railings but the path was usually wide enough that I felt comfortable. When it climbed up rock without railings it was a little scarier and I used the 3 point rule (your feet and hands are each a point and 3 of them are always on the surface) I hope you will go. The anticipation was worse than the reality of doing it. Pick a day mid week . We were got lucky. Up until the morning we left it was suppose to rain which means we couldn't have gone. That morning it miraculously changed to clear ans dry. Because the weather was supposed to be bad, hardly anyone climbed on Monday. We were at the top for 20 minutes by ourselves. We met very few people going up and down which is why we did it so fast. So many sections are one way that waiting on others will slow you down. We had heard that over the week end when the weather was beautiful there were hundreds going up and down. So aim for mid week. Keep in touch and let me know when you go. If nothing else our time at Planika Dom was worth the effort. The views from there are wonderful. Thanks to all 3 of you for taking the time to read and share my experience.

Connie, we must have hiked on the same day then. I remember that Monday because I was hiking not in the national park, but in the Kamnik Savinja Alps above Logarska Dolina. At first, we expected quite a lot of people as a public holiday fell on that day and long weekends are a popular time for hiking, but as the forecast was released we pondered whether to cancel the hike altogether. In the end, we decided to go anyway. Should the weather have turned, we would have just stayed in the valley and did something else. Luckily, the weather was glorious and we had the mountains all to ourselves. The KSA are less popular than the Julian Alps as it is, but the added weather forecast meant we only met a couple of groups during the whole day. The mountain hut had just a few guests, too, so we had plenty of time to converse with the staff, which was wonderful. How lucky that you were hiking to Mt Triglav on a day like that! It has become so popular that it's very difficult to have the peak for yourself nowadays, or so I hear anyway.

Thank you so much for your tips, they are of great help. Hopefully, I'll manage to make it to the top next year. I'm glad you loved your time in my little country, you're very welcome to return on a future trip!

Wow Connie, Huge Applause, can you hear it? I would love to do the climb. Yet another thing on my list to do next year. I'm not sure how I'm going to fit my bucket list in the 4 days I'll have before the tour starts.

Thanks highlanderct. It was memorable.

Hello Connie!
We are going to Slovenia either next June or July and are trying to figure out if we can handle Mt. Triglav. We are a family of 4 from Colorado, so very familiar with hiking. I would say that our maximum comfort level for ascent in a day is about 3000 ft. I tried to find the hut you referenced, thinking we could break up the hike into a 2 day climb, but could not find a website for the hut or how to book it. Would we need to rent equipment like harnesses and helmets Or would we be ok with just hiking poles and hiking boots? Thanks for any advice!

I'm not Connie, but www.hribi.net is a good resource for hiking, although in Slovenian. I recommend using Google Translate to make sense of it. Judging by her description, she took the route that is described on the following link: http://www.hribi.net/izlet/konec_ceste_na_pokljuki_triglav_cez_planiko_in_mali_triglav/1/1/133

Huts in Slovenia are listed on the Alpine Association website: http://en.pzs.si/koce.php The Planika Dom is on the following link: http://en.pzs.si/koce.php?pid=32 Note that huts can only be booked by phone.

If you've never hiked in the Alps, it could be better to start with an easier hike rather than Triglav. There are plenty of other hikes within the national park that go to other peaks or beauty spots, for example through the Triglav Lakes Valley to a lower peak (2 days) or to one of the peaks above Rudno Polje and the Pokljuka Plateau with wonderful views of Triglav, such as Visevnik: http://www.hribi.net/izlet/rudno_polje_visevnik_/1/77/27 or Debela Pec: http://www.hribi.net/izlet/sport_hotel_debela_pec_/1/84/3009 - both day hikes with ascents of around 2500ft.

Sorry for the delay. We were traveling the long flight home when I first got the message. I have spent the last 2 days with my grandkids (who claim they missed me as much as I did them...but that is impossible) Deciding whether you can handle the hike is one of the hardest things I had to cope with. My husband was determined to go...and since we have stuck together for 40 years, I did not want to be left behind. I went with the idea that if it became too much for me, I could wait at the hut. In the end, I went for it and was really glad I did. The anticipation was worse that the reality.
Dejan was spot on on the web sites I used. We did do the exact route that he referenced. I also used the Alpine Association website for information on the huts. I was able to make our reservation by e-mail. The hut generally opens sometime in May, and I would advice making your reservation asap because you will be going during the busiest season. One more website that was helpful was:
http://www.summitpost.org/triglav/150787
It had some route suggestions and first hand stories and experiences from people who have climbed.

Many people spend 2 nights at the hut. They hike up to the hut the first day, summit the 2nd day, and hike out the 3rd day. You can also go up to the hut the first day and summit and come all the way down the second day. We went all the way up the first day, came back to the hut and hiked out the second. The elevation is similar to Mount Elbert in Colorado. However, when we hiked to Mount Elbert we had to go all the way up and down in one day. Breaking it up into 2 days should make it very doable.

Having said all that, there was a lot to think about before committing to the summit. We had to decide what extra supplies we had to take. (We took our own boots, my husbands large day pack and a smaller pack for me, our first aid kit, 2 water bottles, (we also added 2 one liter coke bottles of water to those) warm hats and gloves and 2 climbing harnesses) This was in addition to what we were taking to travel in Europe for 25 days. Because we were also planning to hike in the Dolomites and the Logarska Dolina area, it was worth taking all this. I am not sure I would have wanted to carry all that around Europe for just one hike. We also had to figure out what to do with the rest of our stuff while we were gone. In the end, we kept our room in Bled. That way we could keep all our stuff in it and we also had a room if weather stopped us from hiking. You can rent climbing harnesses in Bled so you don't have to carry them with you. As I said in my first post, we ended up not using them, but I would still recommend you have them just in case. Also, stop in at the National Park office in Bled and buy a map. The trail is well marked, but as an experienced hiker, I am sure you understand the importance of having a good map. We used it to help a trio of hikers who had missed a turnoff for their trail and were hiking out the wrong way! They knew they were off, but without a map they could not figure out exactly what they had done wrong.

What makes this hike different than others is the last hour and a half to the summit. It is on a narrow ridge with drop offs on both sides. On a busy day, there is hardly room to pass people in places and you must wait to go up or down some of the areas. (We got lucky and had very few people on the day we climbed) If it looks like rain: Don't GO!! The rocks will be slippery. It is by far the most "thrilling" hike I have done (and I have been up Angels Landing in Zion NP multiple times. It is the closest thing to this I have done and was a walk in the park compared to Triglav) Having said that, the hike to hut is wonderful. I know most of the people there were waiting to summit the day after we did. The weather changed and they were not able to go. But most agreed the trip to the hut was still worth it. So even getting that far is a great experience. Second post to follow

The route we chose was great. Up to the Vodnikov dom was a great trail and just a nice hike with a reasonable elevation gain. After the first dom, there were some areas with hand holds and railings, but it just dropped off on one side and was not bad. The last bit up to the dom was steep, but not difficult at all. It isn't until after Planika Dom that it gets exciting. This is a video of a man who taped himself coming down the route we did. I hesitate to post it, because watching the video was scarier for me than the actual hike. However, it does give you an idea of what it is like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD5ccOt66Zw

It is an edited version (he has full versions of his hike up and descent down) You tube has many videos of different routes, etc. We even watched a "family reunion" hike to the top on you tube.

You can go with a professional guide (a father and daughter at the hut we stayed at did that. He escorted just the 2 of them up). There are also companies in Bled that lead groups up for around 200 euros a person. They do a route that is more difficult that we did but they provide harnesses, etc. You also stay at a different hut than we did and go up a harder route. If you are going on your own, I recommend the route we did. I spent hours researching all the ways we could up. The route we choose had the least amount of elevation gain, was the easiest to the hut, and was well marked and easy to follow. We felt it gave us our best chance of success.

Please feel free to contact me if you any specific questions or want advice on anything. I think any experienced hiker who can handle the heights can make it to the top. But you do have to do some pre-planning. As Dejan said, there are many hikes in the area...but only one Triglav!

Congratulations!, I am so glad you posted this. We are planning on a hiking trip in Slovenia with REI next year. I was curious why Triglav is ot on the itinerary and now I see why.

I am a strong hiker and have no trouble with 3000-foot ascents or altitudes up to 11,000 feet. But I have vertigo and absolutely cannot handle paths with drop-offs on both sides, even with a railing. There is a ridge hike in the Wasatch mountains we love, but it has a short narrow section with drop-offs both ways and I can only manage that by crawling on my hands and knees. And no way could I do Angels' Landing past Scout Lookout.

So I will scratch Triglav off my list!

I am OK with a drop-off on one side, as long as the path is at least 3 feet wide so I can stay away from the edge.

Lola- You will love Slovenia. It is so beautiful. I know this is a generalization, but I thought the people were all so kind, patient, and helpful. Restaurants always took the time to explain everything on the menu and the people working at grocery stores were so patient helping us pick out what we needed. (at the meat and cheese counter, etc) Triglav was the scariest hike I have done (I have a fear of heights, but have worked hard to ignore it. Many roller coasters, hikes, etc later, it does not seem to bother me the way it used to and I did just fine on this hike). Back when I did Angel's Landing the first time, I remember getting to the top of Walter's Wiggle and seeing where I still had to go and thinking "I have to go up there?" That is the same feeling I had when we got to the top of Mali Triglav. We had already climbed up so much, and seeing how far we still had to go was daunting!! The good news is you don't have to go up Triglav to get amazing views. Are you adding any days on yout own? If so, I highly recommend the Logarska Dolina area. It is much more rustic and less traveled (which I liked) but is absolutely beautiful with wonderful hikes. We also spent a couple of days hiking in the Dolomites. It was beautiful as well, but I was surprised at how many people we were "hiking with". (We hiked there in 2002, so we had another visit to compare it to.) Have a great trip and let me know what you thought of Slovenia when you get back.

Hi Connie---thank you for the additional information. We are adding a few days on our own before the start of the REI trip, but they will be dedicated to Lake Bled where there will be a Masters' rowing race. My husband is hoping to compete, and has a good chance of qualifying. He will be doing a race on Lake Washington this Saturday. Sunday we fly to Utah and head to Bryce for some hiking there.

I have heard such good things about the Julien Alps, I am really looking forward to the trip. Shortly before that we will spend a week at altitude in Utah (Snowbird, sleeping at 8000 feet and hiking up to 11,000) so we should be acclimated.

What language did you find best for communicating in Slovenia? We will learn a few words in their language, of course, but will not get very far with that. Between us, my husband and I have German and Italian pretty well covered. Would one of those be useful, or do we just stick to English?

English is widely spoken in Slovenia, at least among the under-40 set. With older folks Italian or German might work better in some cases. I don't think you'll have any trouble communicating.

We found that most Slovenian's in Bled speak English very well. There are always exceptions (When we were in Logarska Dolina, our hostess spoke very little English and we had to find ways to communicate). I also speak Italian (not very well and i always have to brush up on it before a trip to Italy). It actually came in very handy. Because Italy is so close to Slovenia and Croatia, we ran in to quite a few Italians. While they usually speak some English, they love it when I try to speak in Italian. In general, you will not have any trouble with a language barrier. I found the people to be very patient when we did not understand what was on the menu, etc. I hope your husband qualifies! How fun that would be to row in Slovenia. I remember you asking about some of the B&B's in Slovenia while we were there. We stayed south of the town area and I found it to be a quieter area than North of the town area. We had a 15 minute walk to the farmhouse where we were staying, but it was so peaceful that it was worth it. I saw signs for one of the places you asked about (I think it was Pension Berc) Although I never went down the street to walk by it, the location seemed ideal. Enjoy Bryce. It is a great place to hike and so different than the other Utah Parks. I sea you live in Seattle, so we should hike together sometime and compare trips!! (or at least have coffee)