We are not alone in the mountains, we are just guests

Thousands of weary, nervous, and agitated people discover that going to the mountains is, in fact, a return home. Wilderness is a necessity. – John Muir, American conservationist (1838–1914)

MAIN TASKS OF THE MOUNTAIN NATURE CONSERVATION COMMISSION (KVGN)

Protecting mountain nature means primarily protecting it from humans. Visitors often forget why we go into nature and are merely guests. Instead, we have become the greatest polluters of mountain nature. What can we do to change this, to make it better?

• Protect mountain nature to preserve its primal state and the last remnants of wilderness by promoting a different, more nature-friendly way of visiting and using the mountains and by continually raising public awareness of the importance of mountain conservation.
• Educate mountain nature guardians through regular and refresher seminars, encourage sections for nature conservation within mountaineering associations as direct carriers of KVGN’s guidelines, collaborate with committees for mountain nature conservation at the inter-association level, and organize expert lectures and excursions on mountain nature conservation.
• Promote awareness and knowledge about the importance of nature conservation in all educational programs of the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS), especially in programs for the Youth Commission, PZS guides, mountain guides, and alpine instructors.
• Collaborate with the Commission for Mountain Paths and the Commission for Mountain Biking to coordinate and select mountain paths suitable for dual-purpose use.
• Constantly monitor the condition and current events in mountain nature, critically assess harmful interventions in mountain environments, and promptly inform the public with expert opinions on various interventions, plans, and events that negatively affect the mountain environment.
• Emphasize the consistent enforcement of Slovenian and international regulations in nature conservation, preserving landscape values, and spatial integrity.
• Inspire mountain visitors with the unique charm of mountain nature.

The beauty there takes your breath away.

Never doubt that a small, dedicated, and committed group of people can change society. It’s the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (1901–1978)

We are not alone in the mountains we are just guests

Mountain visitors are always guests in nature, and we are not alone. Wherever we walk, many plant and animal species have adapted to their habitats. In the complex yet perfectly balanced mountain environment, no superior or inferior, important or unimportant, necessary or unnecessary life forms exist. Every form is equally important and necessary.

Visitors are always welcomed free of charge to a gallery of unique natural beauty and wonders. As guests, we enter a sensitive mountain world where drinking water, the greatest asset of all human civilizations, originates from underground mysteries. The future of this invaluable resource depends solely on us.

As guests, we seek endless opportunities for mental relaxation, personal enrichment, and the renewal of our physical abilities. But are we respectful and considerate enough toward this environment? Sadly, many mountain visitors are not familiar with such sensitivity, behaving recklessly, causing damage, and even endangering the lives of others.

Pristine mountain nature is becoming increasingly scarce while the need to preserve it grows ever more significant. We seek the last remnants of wilderness but forget that by visiting in large numbers; we contribute to its disappearance. We are capable of reaching everywhere. But we can also consciously decide not to go everywhere, leaving some sensitive areas, essential for the survival of endangered species, undisturbed.

Nothing in nature is permanent except constant change. Humans cannot regulate recurring natural processes. When we change them for selfish purposes or out of the mistaken belief that we are managing them, we too often irresponsibly destroy them – to the detriment of nature and ourselves.

Threats to water resources

Slovenia is dependent on water supplies from springs in the mountains and foothills. However, water reserves are limited, springs are threatened, and water pollution is increasing. New roads, growing motor traffic, mass events, and many mountain visitors in recent decades have brought more significant risks to water quality. What goes wrong at the top flows down into countless springs in the valleys.

Forgotten simplicity and modesty

Due to visitor demands, more and more mountain huts and holiday homes offer services comparable to inns in the valley. This increases harmful wastewater, posing a greater risk to water supplies in the valleys. Where have the simplicity, modesty, and homeliness of some mountain huts gone? A step in the right direction is the initiative by the Economic Commission to award the “Environmentally Friendly Mountain Hut” recognition. Many huts already have wastewater treatment plants, but unfortunately, many do not. In some places, dangerous waste is concealed in hidden sinkholes, underbrush, or buried beneath the sand.

Dual-purpose mountain trails

Mountain trails, built through the volunteer work of many generations for safe hiking, are increasingly used by mountain bikers. KVGN, the Commission for Mountain Paths, and the Commission for Mountain Biking have jointly developed criteria for dual-purpose use of mountain trails to avoid conflicts between different users. However, many mountain bikers do not adhere to this agreement. We increasingly encounter them on narrow paths and scree slopes in the high mountains, where some recklessly endanger the safety of older visitors and groups with children, and the deep tracks of their bikes trigger erosion processes in the sensitive natural environment.

Mountains as a competitive arena

Exploiting the mountains as an arena for mass sports competitions and record-breaking brings unnecessary additional environmental burdens: noise from loudspeakers during events, increased traffic with traffic jams and chaotic parking, and consequently, more significant air pollution in natural environments, waste, and carelessness in marking routes for various competitions in mountainous and sub-mountainous regions.

Those who sow roads reap traffic

Walking in the mountains and experiencing nature with your heart and on your feet sounds like an echo from another time. “Drive as far and as high as possible” is becoming the new motto. Tractors and roads serve this purpose, opening the world of mountain wilderness to expensive yet environmentally harmful off-road vehicles. Their owners ignore warning signs that tractor roads are for agricultural use only.

Noise pollution

The culprits of this pollution are varied: noise from increased tourist traffic in the air, especially low-altitude scenic flights in the high mountains (air taxis), new noisy adrenaline sports such as off-road motorcycles, ATVs, and snowmobiles on natural trails, mass noisy events, and concerts of popular music even in front of some mountain huts – something not seen elsewhere in the Alps, including brass bands on Triglav.

We are not alone in the mountains we are just guests Issued by: Mountain Nature Conservation Commission of the PZS. Text by: Janez Bizjak, Marjeta Keršič Svetel, Irena Mrak. Photos by: Marjeta Keršič Svetel, Darko Lorenčič, Darinka Gaberščik, Tanja Menegalija, Shutterstock. Design: Barbara Bogataj Kokalj. Printed by: Medium d.o.o., printed on environmentally friendly paper. Reprint, 5,000 copies, Ljubljana 2015.

Erjavčeva mountain hut is open the whole year. Reserve your stay and spend some time in the natural paradise of Triglav National Park (UNESCO) near Kranjska Gora on Vršič mountain pass in the heart of Triglav National Park.

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