In the summer of 1978, Slovenian television decided to mark the 200th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Triglav with a special event: a live transmission from the Kredarica Hut and the summit itself. The project was a major undertaking. In an era before satellite transmissions became widespread, the project required a complex system of point-to-point microwave links.
Slovenian television’s recent acquisition of new, lightweight RCA cameras developed for electronic newsgathering, made things easier, but getting the rest of the equipment to Kredarica -- and setting it up -- required a crew of 200 people. About 600 kilos of gear was brought up from the valleys; much of its stayed at the hut, but some of it was installed at the summit.
The first live transmission from Triglav was a weather forecast. On August 25 and 26, extended transmissions began. Titled Triglav TV Week, the coverage was highly innovative for the time; it involved several live switches from the summit to Kredarica and the Bohinj Valley, as the TV crews demonstrated the hardships of the 1778 ascent and introduced viewers to life in the mountains. The transmissions, anchored by TV Ljubljana’s cultural correspondent Jože Hudeček, were sent to a live truck in Bohinj and then on to Ljubljana.
The timing of the live transmissions was fortunate. Just as the live coverage was wrapping up, thunderstorms closed in, and the crews had to seek shelter.
To this day, the crew members who participated in the feat still gather on the anniversaries of the live link. Unfortunately for historians and the curious, the tape of the event no longer exists; it was deleted in the 1990s when TV Slovenia recycled the videotapes on which it was recorded.
