Stories of the Triglav Glacier

Miha Pavšek has been monitoring the Triglav Glacier for several decades. Every morning via webcam, preferably live. "In the most beautiful Slovenian office," says Pavšek, who in a conversation with Škrlec reveals the multifaceted function of the glacier, the reasons for its disappearance and the purpose of many years of research.

Miha, a graduate geographer, ethnologist and master of geography, head of the research team of the Anton Melik Geographical Institute (GIAM SAZU), which performs long-term measurements and analyses of both Slovenian glaciers and their remains, met Nik in the second episode of Studio Triglav. There, the subject of conversation was, of course, our disappearing glacier. Unlike Nik, Miha is an experienced mountaineer.

In the second episode, he presents an ice drill used for the first time, which was developed with Slovenian know-how. This tool, will facilitate the process of calculation the exact age of the glacier, which is currently estimated to be present in Triglav for at least 12.000 years. We meet him, a glacier of course, also in the first and second Slovenian feature films. It is a star in cult film In the Kingdom of Zlatorog and Triglavska strmina. Pavšek also mentions the Jesenice’s Olympian Tone Pogačnik (he competed in cross-country skiing in 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland), who in 1946 suffered a spectacular fall in training for the legendary Triglav ski run. The following year, Tone, we could say, one of the first Slovenian freeriders, returned to the slopes of Triglav. Yes, our glacier also writes such wonderful stories…