Uranič was carefully observing the helicopter as it was landing right next to the hut. There were extreme weather conditions and a fog all around Triglav. The helicopter brought the weather observer. Everything concerning Slovenia’s highest hut is in his hands and these days, when the mountain season is at its peak, Uranič has a lot on his plate. He is used to working in the highest mountain range because in the past, he was a manager at the Triglav Lakes Valley and the Hut on Komna. He works from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and if he is lucky, he is free for about two hours. During that break, he likes to sleep or read. “To relax a little bit.”
According to Uranič, this year’s season is even better than last year’s, which was excellent as well. Working on 2515 meters is unique in many different ways. “We came here on July 12, and we return back on October 5 or October 10. During those months, I’m mostly here. I’ve been home for four days, because of my daughter’s birthday. When the season is at its peak, there is eight or nine of us working, and then by October, the number slowly decreases.”
Unfortunately, a lot of night riots
The hut has 350 accommodations and at the end of every week, there is a lot of guests. Even if the entire place is booked, we reject no one. In that case people can sleep on the bench, and in extreme cases even on the ground. When we asked him about the general behaviour of the mountaineers, he got very critical. “People have no manners. Especially when it comes to trash or respecting the house rules. For example, we installed trash cans, however, people still throw their garbage everywhere. And the night riots during late hours really disturb me. Today we had a group of people, who partied until two in the morning. I cannot teach them manners. I give them a warning and nothing else. It will eventually get better. Kredarica is known for the accordion parties at the end of the week. This is not an issue if only it stops at a reasonable hour.”
Before we left, we asked the manager, when does he recommend climbing the highest mountaintop. “Not a lot people climb there on Mondays or Tuesdays, however, by the end of the week, the number gets higher. There are only a few people on Sunday afternoon, although, the weather plays an important role then,” added Uranič.
