100 Years of Skala in Slovenia

<p>​</p><p><strong>100 years of Skala in Slovenia</strong></p><p><strong>&#160;</strong></p><p>On 2 February 1921, Candlemas, the founding general assembly of the Skala Touring Club took place at what was then the Novi Svet (&quot;New World&quot;) restaurant in Ljubljana. The club brought together young people – secondary school students, university students, shop assistants – for whom the Slovene Alpine Club was too restricting.&#160; These youngsters were the originators of organised Slovene alpinism, since walking on established paths was not enough for them. </p><p>Skala members also cultivated skiing as an activity, which helped establish skiing as Slovenia's national sport. They were also active in the cultural field – photography, film, painting, literature – where they broke new ground. The Skala-produced feature film <em>In the Realms of Goldhorn</em> was a resounding success.</p><p>Skala was a democratic, patriotic organisation with high ethical and moral standards. </p><p>The tradition of the pre-war Skala has continued in independent Slovenia under the new name Skala Slovene Mountaineering Club&#160; (SGK Skala), which functions as a federation or association of mountaineering clubs, bringing together the following organisations&#58; Dr Henrik Tuma Mountaineering Club and Gora Touring Club (both Ljubljana), Savinja Valley Mountaineering Club (Luče), Upper Soča Valley Mountaineering Club (Bovec), Karavanke Mountaineering Club (Kranj), Jakob Aljaž Mountaineering Club (Medvode), Limberk Mountaineering Club (Ivančna Gorica), Vrhnika Mountaineering Club (Vrhnika), Volja Mountain Bike Club (Ljubljana) and Paragliders Mountaineering Club (Zagradec). </p><p>The above mountaineering clubs present their expedition calendars, mountain guide training sessions and route and waymark maintenance campaigns in the annual publication <em>Skala</em>. Miniature replicas of Aljaž's Tower placed on mountain peaks and containing summit registers are the identifying mark of the Skala family.</p><p style="text-align&#58;justify;">Silvo Klemenčič</p><p style="text-align&#58;justify;">President of Dr Henrik Tuma Mountaineering Club</p><p style="text-align&#58;justify;">&#160;</p>