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November 16,
2011
"The
Sunny Side of Alps"
by Petra McDowell
Julian Alps, located
in Slovenia, a tiny country bordering Austria and Italy, are the
southeastern most section of great Alpine arc. Differing in scenery
from the Western Alps, the views of rugged limestone peaks can be
enchanting as well as simply jaw-dropping. A network of trails,
various full range traverses, via-ferratas and countless
mountaineering routes supported by well run hut system, offer
visitors an experience long remembered.
The presentation will
start with brief introduction of Slovenia and its culture followed
by slideshow discussion of my explorations in the heart of Julian
Alps, Triglav National Park, as well as overview of must-do
hiking/climbing routes. It will end with practical information for
future visitors to the area.
Petra Pirc McDowell is
a native of Slovenia who grew up in Julian Alps. Being brought up
as an alpine ski racer of old-school skiing, her early training
involved spending summers in mountain huts, skiing undeveloped
avalanche ravines under the big limestone peaks and learning to live
in/with nature.
Petra has traveled all
over Europe racing for Slovenian National Team and eventually landed
in Salt Lake City to ski for University of Utah. She returns to
Slovenia often and spends as much time as possible in the
mountains. Delighted when her husband, Nate McDowell, got awarded a
Fulbright Scholarship to Slovenia, they lived there for 9 months in
2010 and shared the love of Julian Alps with their children, Hailey
Anja and Sasho.
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