Alpine Warriors: The Story of Slovenian Climbing

Eastern Europe’s mountaineering history is entwined with major cultural and political events. In 1945, the communist leader Josip Tito l iberated the Yugoslavian state of Slovenia and a four-decade period of relative political calm began. Yugoslavian climbers had unique access to both the East and West during the Cold War and took full advantage of this.

With Bernadette McDonald continues her insightful research i nto Europe’s climbing history that she started with her book which focused on mountaineers from Poland. Slovenia’s alpinists raised the bar for Himalayan climbing from 1960 onward. Their “home crag” of the Julian Alps proved to be the perfect place to perfect the skills they would need for the highest mountains on earth. Beautifully written with captivation anecdotes, McDonald opens the door to a chapter in international climbing few know about. From brotherhood, hard times and love to discovery and patriotism, this is one of the most important mountaineering books of the decade.

Whether you’re a climbing history fanatic or one who enjoys reading about heroes and legends, is for you.