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Museum object

Inv. no. GKM-ALP-0079

Nejc Zaplotnik’s high-altitude boots

Alpina Žiri boots in which Nejc Zaplotnik, on 13 May 1979, became the first Slovenian to stand on the summit of Mount Everest — via the West Ridge, the mountain’s most demanding route.

Summit reached

13. 5. 1979

Manufacturer

Alpina Žiri

Elevation

8.848 m

Khislstein Castle · Showcase 7A

The boots that stood on the roof of the world

Po prvi slovenski odpravi v Himalajo, leta 1960, je bila 1963 pri Planinski zvezi Slovenije ustanovljena Komisija za odprave v tuja gorstva z izdelano strategijo in vizijo.
Po odpravah na sedem tisočaka leta 1965 in 1969, je leta 1972 prišel na vrsto prvi osem tisočak, Makalu. Vrh je, žal, ostal nedosežen, zato so leta 1975 odpravo ponovili. Kar devet alpinistov je vrh Makaluja doseglo po prvenstveni smeri preko južne stene. Prvenstveni vzpon je pomenil dokončen stik slovenskega alpinizma s svetovnim alpinističnim vrhom.

The development of alpinism and the achievements that followed were finally heralded in 1977 by Andrej Štremfelj and Nejc Zaplotnik, who climbed a first ascent on the southwest ridge of Gasherbrum I (8,068 m).

“We are sitting by the Chinese pyramid and do not know what to do!”

— Nejc Zaplotnik and Andrej Štremfelj, message from the summit of Everest, 13 May 1979

The expedition planned to reach Everest’s summit via the West Ridge — and succeeded. The route is still considered the hardest on the mountain: from the Khumbu Glacier base rises a 700 m steep rock wall to the Lho La pass, followed by the 1,200 m slope of the West Shoulder; beyond its crest stretches a 2.5 km long, relatively gentle but fiercely windy ridge, at the end of which begins Everest’s steep and rugged summit pyramid with more than 700 m of elevation gain and some extremely difficult climbing pitches for extreme altitude.

vrsna piramida everesta — From the Lho La area toward the summit the ridge runs about 6.5 kilometres. At 3,000 metres that may not sound excessive, but here much of the climbing takes place at extreme altitude along an exposed ridge mercilessly whipped by winds from Tibet.

Everest’s West Ridge — a 2.5 km long, relatively gentle but extremely windy ridge before the summit pyramid.

With the ascent of Everest, Slovenian alpinism finally anchored itself among the world’s elite, where it remains today.

Technical solution

For the expedition Alpina developed boots with a double shell and special insulation for extreme temperatures down to −40 °C. The sole was designed for attaching crampons that ensured grip on ice and snow at high altitude.

For the outer clothing layer they used Gore-Tex for the first time; the material was imported, but domestic companies sewed the garments.

Zaplotnik’s legacy

Nejc Zaplotnik was one of the most important Slovenian alpinists and writers. His book Pot (The Path) became a classic of mountaineering literature. He died tragically in 1983 in an avalanche below Manaslu.

In 1982 the Zaplotnik family donated the boots to the Gorenjska Museum as part of a wider gift of mountaineering equipment and documents from Himalayan expeditions.

8848

metres · roof of the world

Did you know?

The hardest route

Everest’s West Ridge is considered the hardest route on the mountain. From base camp rises a 700 m steep rock wall, followed by a 1,200 m slope, then a 2.5 km windy ridge and the summit pyramid with 700 m of elevation gain.

Three Slovenians on the summit

On this expedition the summit was reached by three Slovenians — Nejc Zaplotnik, Andrej Štremfelj and Stane Belak Šrauf — as well as Croatian Stipe Božić and Sherpa Ang Phu.

The same boots, two mountains

Zaplotnik wore the same Alpina boots two years later, in 1981, on an attempt via the demanding south face of Lhotse — the world’s fourth-highest mountain.

Photographs of the object and the expedition

Nejc na vrhu Everesta — From the summit comes the famous line: “We are sitting by the Chinese pyramid and do not know what to do!”

naveza za vrh — Brothers Marko and Andrej Štremfelj together with Nejc Zaplotnik formed the summit rope team. However, a valve on Marko’s oxygen cylinder failed and he had to turn back.

po vrnitvi z vrha — The two climbers never described the ascent as “theirs”, but said they reached the summit for the whole expedition that had toiled on the mountain for months.

dolg zahodni greben — The expedition led by Tone Škarja climbed the West Ridge by an exceptionally demanding, partly new route. This was not the classic approach to Everest but a major alpine project: for 45 days the team advanced along the ridge, establishing camps, fixing ropes and solving hard rock and ice sections. The route later became known as the Yugoslav Route and is still regarded as one of the hardest routes by which Everest’s summit has been reached.

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