In the shelter of the yellow larch trees below Vršič, the mountaineers of Jesenice are celebrating a high jubilee – 100 years of the Erjavčeva’s hut, which they manage. It is one of the few mountain outposts in Slovenia that is also open in winter.

A stone’s throw from the Vršeška road, after the 22nd bend, on a hill in the shelter of larch trees stands Erjavčeva’s cottage, named after the Slovenian naturalist Fran Erjavec. The Germans already built the first hut on this site in 1901. Vosshütte, as it was called, was used by the builders of the Vršice road during the First World War, and then it came into Slovenian hands.

“When, after the First World War, the hut was taken over by the members of the Slovenian Mountaineering Society, which was otherwise in bad condition, it was certainly a great activity for all mountaineers, especially those mountain enthusiasts. On the other hand, at that time, it was also important for strengthening the national consciousness of all Slovenians,” emphasises Janko Rabič from the Jesenice Mountain Association.

The safe shelter under the walls of Prisank, Mojstrovka was taken over by the Mountain Societies of Jesenice after the Second World War. The hut was renovated and opened in 1922. Electricity and a telephone were soon installed in the cottage. And – which was an exception then and still today – the hut was open all year round. “This was very, very important for Slovenian alpinism at the time. Sometimes we gathered three, four, or even five generations. Uroš Zupančič, later Janez Kunstelj, knew and could say a lot. And if you had open ears and eyes, you could learn a lot,” recalls international mountain guide Klemen Volontar.

One winter, the valley was almost inaccessible.

As the president of the Jesenice Mountaineering Association, Ivo Ščavničar explains, many courses are held in Erjavčeva koča in winter, where young people are taught how to behave in the mountains in winter, as well as courses for those who train to be guided in winter. But the winter on Vršič still shows its teeth today. Even more than ten meters of snow was estimated years ago at the top of the pass, and even more in the gables. At the same time, Ščavničar admits that the search for caretakers for the cottage is quite challenging. “There were periods when the valley was almost inaccessible. We have to be aware that there is also a danger of landslides here, so there were moments when they were cut off from the world,” he said.

Until recently, the road was only ploughed on the first of May, so we carried a lot of goods in our backpacks, the interlocutors recall. “It was necessary to trample. Sometimes the snow reached over the waist. Then we ploughed it a little and climbed a little. In short, in this way, the hut was full every weekend. But there were also periods when it was so full, in the newer times. We even came to pick up the caretaker with a helicopter. The big turning point was when the cottage was demolished, and a new one was built. Due to these circumstances, it was closed for quite a few years, and it lost all its regular customers,” said Volontar.

According to Ščavničar, the new cottage is gaining a reputation. “We are constantly adapting to the wishes and needs of visitors. I think that this cottage will slowly get the warmth that I remember from my youth,” said the president of the Jesenice Mountaineering Association. That is why they try to preserve and revive the original mountain spirit while caring for comfort and always safe access. “Because we are warm-hearted, happy, driven, and hard-working people, we also know how to make ourselves happy. In short, we are mountaineers,” emphasised Janko Rabič.