A Mountain Guide Will Take Me to the Mountains

The most important task of mountain guides is to protect their clients, themselves, and to preserve the nature.

You should always visit mountains accompanied by the local people and guides that you trust. You should take their advice and not get smart, as all your knowledge is irrelevant in most cases. (Baltazar Hacquet, 1796)

When we plan more demanding, unknown tours, winter ascents, when we would like to give ski mountaineering a try or wish our trip to be both eventful and safe, we should always hire a qualified and experienced guide. A mountain guide has to organize a complete tour for individuals or groups, provide professional guidance, create a pleasant atmosphere, and bring the clients safely back to the valley. He also advises on the proper mountaineering outfit. Gorski vodnik (Mountain Guide) is the highest possible professional rank awarded in Slovenia, while the rank Vodnik PZS (Guide AAS – Guide of the Alpine Association of Slovenia) is reserved for a voluntary, skilled guide who operates within mountaineering societies. This person is responsible for the basic member training, takes members on tours, and advises on the right equipment.

Mountain guiding has a long tradition in Slovenia. Locals, who first walked the mountains out of economic needs, later guided explorers on tours and are now treated as first mountain guides. In the 19th century, only few people visited mountains alone, so when the first tourists started visiting the mountains, they played an important role. Officials and mountaineering organizations felt responsible for the safety of tourists in the mountains, and so started organizing trainings for guides and awarding official licenses. Guides often worked as porters and occasionally as mountain rescuers. They used simple hand-made equipment or tools used in their everyday country life. They were paid in line with the official fares, so the money represented an additional source of income. In addition to professionals, the first voluntary mountain guides appeared before World War II, when priests, teachers and scout organizations started leading people in the mountains.