Day #1, Laghetto della Pera lake, Creta di Bordaglia/Kreutzen in the background
Day #1 sunset over Creta Forata/Monte Cimon
Instead
of driving straight home to Zagreb,
we decided
to spice it up a bit by taking a detour via Carnic and Julian
Alps. Complete
driving detour: Forni Avoltri-Tolmezzo-Chiusaforte-Cave del
Predil-Passo del Predil-Bovec-Isonzo/Soca river source-Vrsic
pass-Kranjska gora. Detour was rewarded with nice, and
followed by
what easily may be called gorgeous autumn weather.
Woods already changing colors from deep greenery toward red overcast,
summits
backed by dep blue skies. One thing we noticed, though, were
low water
levels. Both in Carnia and Slovenia, alpine rivers look
disproportionally tiny, while surrounded with large yet dry river beds. Our
main goals were Bordaglia
lake, rated as prettiest lake of Carnic Alps and Getting
to Bordaglia lake was an interesting drive trough the history.
This particular north-by-northeast part of Italy is still somehow
deattached from the main events. A borderzone, in the past
often providing safe crossover for smugglers, a frontline during the
World War I. Small towns littered with rundown military facilities. As
there is no war threat anymore, looks like nobody really knows what to
do with all those heroic army lefftowers. Logos and signs
here and there reminding us that this used to be the core base of Alpini, elite
mountain army force units.
Easy walking path took us alongside bursting water stream up to the
mountain pastures. And inside 3 hours or so, we were already on the
main Carnic ridge, a frontier line between Italy and Austria.
Pretty experience. Small, emerald green lakes surrounded by limestone
summit faces on the east, and rugged reddish ridges on the west. A
mixure of eastalpine landscape and something that reminded me
of
Mt. Korab on the far southeast Balkans. Variety in shapes and
contours, this is where Carnic Alps seem to be at their very best. Our
progress was heavily affected by the fact that we aquired some
malga cheese enroute. Cheese weight didn't seem to yield any positive
effect to our mobility. So we did not summited anything.
Nevertheless, beauty of the lakes compensated well for it.
Little green lake
Day #2 Karstic spring of the river Soca (Isonzo)
Day #2 sunset over mt. Jerebica
Day two starded with little if no clouds. We passed Cave del Predil, small mining settlement squizzed beneath Jerebica, Skutnik, Monte Re and Cinque Punte.
Enjoyable view on Cinque Punte (5 peaks). All five of them bathing in warm sunlight. Bordercross on the Predil Pass.
Time to leave Italy and enter Slovenia.
Our intention te leave Italy didn seem to trigger much interest from the Italian custom officer. Sleepy face gave as a short glimpse, followed by the half-hearted wave of his right hand. Just go on. And so we did. We were welcomed by even less of an attention on the Slovenian side. Small, dark haired dude with neat moustaches. Fully focused on daily newspaper in his hand. No glimpse. No hand wave. Then, just for a short moment, his left moustache started to winkle. As the left moustache was actually eastbound oriented, this was a crystal clear sign that we may enter. His righthand moustache, one overlooking the road toward Italy, remained still. And so, 25 seconds of bordercrossing activity was over.
Steep road infront of us was winding downhill inside Koritnica, dissapearing at the bottom of Loska stena, the widest wall of entire Julian Alps.
Whilst closing down to Bovec, a hot, almost summer-like heat started to creep inside our mountaineering vehicle.
And indeed, whilst stretching our legs in Bovec, we felt almost as having a stroll alongside the Meditteranian coast. One noteable exception was lack of sea waterfront. And another was right behind our back. Only 1653 metres high, yet impressive, matterhornish shape of Svinjak. Some towns are deprived of a backyard mountain, some are blessed with it. Bovec is blessed, really. Enjoyeable view of Svinjak compensated for everything else, as Bovec is all about rafting-canoening . We felt like being the only strangers in the town unwilling to dip into cold waters of Soca. We were heading for Soca river source instead.
As we drove upstream, every now and then we were surpassed by the motocyclists. No explanation for this motorcycle galore. And no real clue where all this people are actualy going. Once we reached the Soca river source hut (koca pri izvoru Soce), situation looked promising.
No motorcycles.
Actualy, not many people inside or around the hut at all. 15 minutes later, we figured out what happened with all the human resources.
Soca spring is a typhical karst spring out of the cave with small underground lake. Also, arguably, the most crowded river spring I have ever seen. Normal route reaches the spring by the narrow rock face. It is secured with fixed ropes. But as the water level was very low, large portion of visitors literally hopped into the source by jumping from one stone onto another inside the Soca river bed. The little cave lake was surrounded from all direction but from the inside. 15-20 minutes to get to the source, another 15-20 fighting for the good photoshoot position.
The little lake did not seem to care much about the fuzz, just following patiently the events with it's green eye.
Thinking of the past
8th regiment logo
Julius Kugy
"Scabiosa trenta"
Travelling this area triggers
two various thoughts. War is first one. All present major
access trails in the Carnic Alps are descendants of the
military trails constructed for army purposes during the WWI
or before that.
This part of Carnic Alps was
operational playground for Alpini units. Alpini is
term for the Italian Army Mountain units and should not be
mistaken for the Alpinisti - Alpine climbers. the 8th
Alpini Regiment, composed of bataglions from Cividale, Gemona and
Tolmezzo, took part in Italy campains in Libia, before the
WWI. During the war, they were engaged in Trento, on the
Carnic front, as well as around Caporetto/Kobarid battlefront. During
the WWII they were all over the place, Greece, Albania, Russian front.
They retreated from Russia following the massive human losses.
What has left of the Regiment was send againt to Julian Alps and Prealps to
fight Yugoslav partisans. These days, the strenth of the unit
is reduced and those who serve are volunteer soldiers rather then
drafted. Only remain off the old glory and less glory days is
the Regiment coat off arms with their "o la o rompi" (Do or die) moto.
Another
thought we face is of one of the most peculiar persons in the
history of Eastern Alpine mountaineering. Driving through
small and not particulry vivid villages, every now and then you'll see
streets and squares named "Julius Kugy" - poet of the
Eastern Alps. Then, who was this guy?
Julius
Kugy was born in Gorizia in 1858 and died in
Trieste in 1944. he was merchant from Trieste, organ player
and pioneer mountaineer. known for his passion toward music, writing , mountains and nice flora.
Music In
Trieste he formed a 14 members strong chorus named Palestrinian Chorus.
Twelve of them were males, other two Kugy's sister and his cousin. Kugy
himself was singing as one of two bass voices in the chorus. They
performed in various churches and concert halls around Trieste. His
second musical connection was organ. He bought one from Vienna, and
donated it to Madonna
delle Grazie church in Trieste. In return, he
could practise there 3 hours every day, which he did for almost 40
years, to the annoyance of the people living next to the
church. In the early days, they tried to distract
him by playing harmonium atonal and beating military drum at a same
time, but to no avail. kugy would do pedals first for an hour
or so, followed by an hour of new pieces. Last hour was
dedicated to repetition of the old stuff. His favourite
compositions were Bach's Fugue in D major and more famous Toccata +
Fugue . He played during the masses. His organ is still in the
same church and was restaurated in March 1992. Writing It
is believed that Kugy inherited his writing talent from his grandad. His
grandfather, Slovenian lawyer and poet Janez Vesel Koseski (Koseze pri
Moravcah 1798 - 1884, Trieste) was first man to mention name
Slovenija in his poem Slovenja, written
in honour of Austria's emperor Ferdinand 1st visit to Ljubljana, in
year 1844. Grandad's surname translates as "cheerful". Kugy
starded publishing his works in mid 1920's. He wrote 7 books total.
They are all written in non-hero style, with good
touch of humor. His influence arose after some of his works have been
translated in English . It is known that Frank Sydney Smythe,
writer and mountaineer himself (1933 Everest expedition and others) was
fan of Kugy's writing. Some of Smythe's books like The
Kangchenjunga Adventure and others to follow, are written in typical
post-Kugy style, nonheroic, humorous and both informative and
fun to read. Kugy wrote all his books in German. His
accounts were also written in German and published in Austrian Alpine
Association magazine. Books: -Aus dem Leben eines Bergsteigers
(From the Life of an Alpine-Climber) -Arbeit - Musik - Berge
(Work – Music - Mountains) -Fünf Jahrhunderte Triglav
(Five Centuries of Triglav) -Die Julischen Alpen im Bilde
(The Julian Alps in Picture) -Anton Ointzinger - Ein
Bergführerleben (Anton Oitzinger: A Life of a Mountain
Guide) - Aus
vergangener Zeit (From Days Past) -Im göttlichen Lächeln des Monte
Rosa (Divine Smile of Monte Rosa) Mountains Kugy
was pioneer climber of the Julian Alps. He opened around
fifty new routes and traverses. According to the Italian
sources, he was the first man to climb Italian mountain routes with
difficulty grade V and above. Some recent
publications quote him as first sestogradista (sixgrader), as some of
his routes equal the difficulty of VI grade routes like
Comici - Dimai on Cima Grande di Lavaredo northface, or via Cassin on
Grandes Jorasses. Short climbing timeline: - 1870
His first mountain climbs - 1880 First ascent of Skrlatica
with guides Komac and Kravanja. - 1881 Triglav from Trenta
valley -1882 Jalovec from Trenta valley. with guide Tozbar -1884
il Grande Nabois first ascend - 1885 Razor north face first
ascend -1886 first ascents of Madre dei Camosci, Cima di
Riofreddo and Cima di Riobianco - 1887 Skrlatica northface
first ascend - 1890 Prisojnik northface first ascend -
1891 Jof Fuart east route, Piccolo Mangart/Mali Mangart first ascend -
1892 via della Spragna at Jof di Montasio - 1893 Cima delle
Rondini first ascend - 1895 Canin nord face first ascend -
1902 northface diretissima on Jof di Montasio with Bolaffio and guides
Komac and Oitzinger, named after him Diretissima Kugy. First
winter ascend of Canin - 1905 fullfilled his long time
dream, Jof di Montasio winther ascend over the north route -
1908 with Bolaffio and Oitzinger on southeast pillars of Jof di
Montasio grade V route opened - 1910 aged 52, his last new
route and first ascend of northern tower of Jof di Montasio Flora It
was the physician Balthasar Hacquet, whose description of the
misterious Scabiosa Trenta flower from the Trenta valley attracted
Kugy to Julian Alps. pic of the Scabiosa Trenta was published in
Hacquet book from the year 1782. However, Austrian bothanist
Anton Kerner traced Hacquet's flower sample in Ljubljana museum, only
to find out that misterious Scabiosa Trenta flower specie does not
exist. Actually, it was Cephalaria leucantha,
a fairly common flower of carst areas at sub1000 metre altitude.
Going home
Pretty mt. Svinjak
At the Vrsic pass
Once
we reached the Vrsic pass, it became clear where all the motocycling
units we met before were heading for. Pass was crowded with
Hondas, Suzukis an likes. Watching guys in leather suits, it was rather
odd to think that 9 decades ago the same spot was crowded
with semi-frozen men wearing uniforms and speaking odd Slav
language. During the WWI, Vrsic pass and it's access roads
were cleaned and mantained by the Russian POW's.
Several hundreds of them became victim of huge avalanche. Small wooden
memorial ortodox church alongside Vrsic-Kranjska gora road,
reminding us of that fatal March, 1916. Before
reaching Kranjska gora, we made a short stopover where
Mala & Velika Pisnica creeks met. They form
a nice pond
here, water reflecting the mountain walls above Krnica.
Having not visited Kranjska gora since childhood, had some
difficulty with basic orienteering. Small town, considerably
enlarged by new wintersport accomodation facilities. Just the
ol' classic Razor hotel
still figting for it's right to enjoy the commanding
view of the Julian Alps walls. But, the new hotels seem to pay little
respect to the old fella..
Several hours later, we
were driving into Zagreb down the Slavonija avenue.
Zagreb's backyard mountain, Mt. Medvednica, was enjoying the
last
rays of the daylight sun. Then we noticed an alpenglow-like effect.
That was strange, hence Medvednica, as many other Pannonian mountains,
is normally never hit by an alpenglow.
And this one was beneath rather then beyond the mountain. A second
glimpse revealed the mistery. Someone set on fire the bus stop on the
other side of the road. As flames starded to swallow
the
plastic roof, they formed a purple-yellow rim, bordering the
contours of Mt. Medvednica in the far background. In an odd
way,
this piece of urban hooliganism took our mind back day and half ago,
as we watched the alpenglow flames owerflowing the mountains
of
Carnic Alps from Casera di Bordaglia. br>
Julian Alps
