The purpose of the master's thesis was to analyze all Slovenian ascents in the Himalayas (goal top of the mountain), which were carried out between 1960 (the first Slovenian Himalayan expedition) and 2016, when the last online collection "Slovenian mountaineering" was published. We wanted to find out which style of climbing (himalayan style, alpine style of climbing) was more successful and safer for Slovenes. In addition, we wanted to find out which style of climbing has a worse effect on the environment and which uses more oxygen.
Data on ascents in the period between 1960-2016 were obtained on the website of the Mountaineering Association of Slovenia (Slovenes in the Himalayas from 1954 to 2013) and on the online collection "Slovenian mountaineering". In addition, we obtained opinions on individual climbing styles from well-known Slovenian alpinists who were members of some of these expeditions.
We found that 355 ascents were made during this period, 247 were done in alpine style, 108 of them were done in Himalayan style climbing. In the alpine style of climbing, alpinists achieved the main goal (top of the mountain) in 70.45% of cases, which means that this style of climbing is slightly more successful for Slovenes, as in the Himalayan style they reached the top only in 66.67% of cases. The alpine style of climbing resulted in a fatal accident in 3.24%, and the Himalayan style of climbing in 15.74%, which means that the alpine style of climbing is also safer. In addition, we found that Slovenes used additional oxygen exclusively in the Himalayan style of climbing, and only in 15.74% of all ascents. In conclusion, we confirmed the hypothesis that the Himalayan style of climbing pollutes the environment more, with which all well-known Slovenian alpinists who participated in the survey agree.
|