Triglav National Park Day 2-Summiting Triglav
The next morning eager for the summit climb, we met at 5AM, donned our helmets and strapped on our harnesses. Then we sat and waited for the weather to cooperate, but the rain took no heed of our interests. So we took them off, ordered breakfast, and waited some more as the skies brightened up outside. There was a pause in the weather system, and around 8AM Igor rushed us out the door. My helmet was haphazardly slapped on and laid askew upon my head for the remainder of the climb.
So up we went, roped together, Igor in front, then me, Lyle, Sandy and Phong at the rear. Igor’s pace was no joke. He wanted to get us up and down as fast as he could. There was no time to enjoy the climb, to take a break for water or even for a breath. The whole time Igor was “guiding” us, not once did he offer any explanations or information about the history or geology of the area or country. His concentration was consumed by his phone conversations, which seemed frantic and troubled. So to give him the benefit of the doubt, we surmised that his pregnant wife’s water just broke unexpectedly, and he’s about to have triplets so he needed to rush off the mountain and get to the hospital to be with her. Aww…there may be a caring side to Igor, but his care was definitely not pointed in our direction.
Many times on the climb up the rope would be caught on a bar or around a rock, and I would have to stop to release it. Igor was not happy that I was slowing down the progress. When I told him the reason, he said he would take care of it and whipped the rope up, in several cases slapping the side of my helmet or my hand with it. Lyle also got a taste of Igor’s inconceivable irritation when the rope got caught between Lyle’s legs. Naturally, we stopped so Lyle could adjust the rope. Feeling the tautness in the line, Igor turned around to inspect the situation. Lyle quickly explained our need to stop. Without a second’s hesitation, Igor the Inconsiderate dismissed the problem with a stern retort, “It’s not a problem. I’ll tell you when it’s a problem!”
By about 5 minutes into the climb, we all diagnosed Igor the Irritable with some type of control complex. He kept barking orders at Phong, but being in the rear, Phong wasn’t able to hear him, so the rest of us would repeat Igor’s directions, only to invoke Igor’s wrath. “I’m in charge. I give the directions!” Oh, excuse us. We were only trying to help you get your directions across.
Igor was on a mission. He was in such a hurry that Lyle and I barely got a chance to shoot an introduction to the climb. Once we roped up, Igor reprimanded Lyle and Phong about holding their cameras. He wanted the guys to hook up their cameras because “It’s safety first.” He’d take all the photos with his phone camera for us. So for most of the climb, Lyle and Phong were deprived of documenting the climb through their lens. Lyle snuck in shots from his belt harness whenever feasible. At one point, the fog separated and for the first time, we had a clear view of the hut and valleys below. Phong asked to stop for a few pictures, but Igor the Irrational denied the request saying we’re close to the top. We couldn’t believe he refused to stop for us to take in the incredible view that we had flown all the way across the ocean to see. But without a guarantee that we’d get another chance of a clear view, we had to take advantage of this window of opportunity. And so we mutinied and refused to move. Igor had to give in. Phong literally snapped some photos in less than a few minutes, and Lyle was finally able to record a little section of the climb.
We’re such a passive bunch with a large capacity for patience, and sometimes that’s a disservice to ourselves. Begrudgingly, we let Igor tug us up at an uncomfortable pace for longer than we should have. Close to the top, Sandy asked for a short water break. His reaction was to point out that “Water was not the solution!” What pure nonsense for a guide to say. Obviously, our needs were not in his best interest. We disregarded his comment and refused to move on until we all got a sip of water. We should have mutinied way earlier in the climb. Patience is not always a virtue, this we learned.
At the summit, Igor the Irked Intimidator released our bondages, and we were free to roam for a short time on our own. Miraculously, the sun broke through the dense clouds and gifted us with beautiful blue skies and crisp clear views all around. After about ten minutes, Igor called us back just as Anh Vu’s group was about to summit. Assuming Igor had some common courtesy and sense in him since we’d have to wait for their whole group to make it to the top before our group descended, Sandy asked for Igor to wait so we could get a group picture with our big brother. Incredibly, we couldn’t believe he was opposed to it! We needed to go now. Wow! Maybe he’s not having triplets. Maybe it’s octuplets! Octuplets would justify the increased magnitude of urgency.
But we knew better by then. Stubbornly, we all ignored Igor’s call and waited for Anh Vu to detach from his group.
We spent but less than several minutes to celebrate our successful summit climb to the top of Mt. Triglav, the highest point in the whole country. Just a couple of minutes to document the main reason we came to Slovenia with some well-earned group photos was all we asked for. Not unreasonable at all. All the while, Igor the Impatient stood repetitively slapping the end of the rope across his palm counting the precious seconds being squandered.
Our descent down to the hut was just as rushed. Once on even ground and the rope removed, Igor left us behind to go at our own pace. By the time we reached the hut, Igor had already changed into running clothes and was about to speed back down the mountain. One good thing came out of Igor’s hurried pace though. Another weather system blew in sending little raindrops plopping upon our helmets just as we finished the hike for the day. If we had taken our time, we may have been caught in the rain and coming down the mountain would have been slick and slippery. So…uuuhh…Thanks, Igor?
As sunset approached, we braved the cold, went back outside in hopes of a colorful sunset. What we witnessed was actually even more spectacular, being caught in one of those rare and magical moments caused by the weather and light. I could have easily believed a Bodhisattva was appearing before my eyes. But viewed through a more scientific lens, we were casting what they call a Spectre of the Brocken, which is when your shadow appears enormous on a nearby cloud with the ground as a reference for size. In addition, we were in the perfect spot that our shadows were inside a Glory, which is similar to a rainbow but the angle of the sun to the water droplets is much smaller, causing a complete ring instead of a just a bow.
That evening, we experienced some of the most beautiful natural scenes on our entire trip. A mesmerizing battle between the elements was playing out and captured our attention for quite a while. A swirling ocean of white clouds had invaded the wide expanse of the valley below and threatening to overtake the surrounding mountain peaks denying the lands beneath of light and warmth. But as the clouds advanced toward the ridgeline, the westerly winds adamantly forbade the encroachment, forcefully blowing the clouds backwards maintaining a definitive boundary between the two sides of the mountain range. Even so waves upon waves of clouds relentlessly continued to charge forth, each was met with the same fate, blown back into oblivion. Yet the offensive refused to retreat, and as the sun dropped below the horizon, it inevitably swooped over the peaks and claimed victory for the night.
O! We love mountaintop views. This experience reinforced our way of traveling, slowly and on foot. Staying an extra night at this first hut was well worth our time.