Back in time

The New Erjavčeva Hut on Vršič (1993)

(pp. 406–407 / pp. 40/41)

Photo: Marjan Zaplatil

On the first Sunday of August this year, on 1 August before noon, mountaineers from Jesenice opened the new Erjavčeva Hut on Vršič—the only mountain lodge on this mountain pass that will be open year-round, including in winter. The assembled hikers, for whom the long-delayed opening of the hut was a major event, were greeted by the president of the Jesenice Mountaineering Society, Pavle Dimitrov, while the hut was officially opened by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Milan Kučan.

At the ceremony, which also marked the Jesenice municipal holiday, the youth members of the local mountaineering society awarded a recognition for contributions to Slovenian mountaineering to the renowned Jesenice mountain photographer Jaka Čop, while the Jesenice mountain rescue team demonstrated a cliff rescue from the wall of Šitna glava.

The Jesenice Mountaineering Society, which, after the Second World War, among other projects, built a new Tičarjev Dom, a new hut at the source of the Soča River, and a new hut on Golica, took over the management of Erjavčeva Hut in 1946. The hut, originally opened at Močila in July 1901 and then owned by the Austrian–German Alpine Club, was demolished in 1987 due to its dilapidated condition. In the same year, construction of a new hut on the same site began, following the plans of architect Milan Žepič, BSc Eng.

Due to funding constraints, construction lasted up to six years, and despite the efforts of the mountaineering construction committee, the hut remains incomplete. The kitchen and restaurant, which seats 100 people, are finished, as are almost all basement facilities and 29 dormitory beds. However, the rooms, which will provide around 70 beds, are not yet furnished.

The value of the work completed so far is approximately 1.4 billion tolars, and about 5 million tolars more are needed to complete the project.

In addition to building the new hut, the mountaineering society constructed a new water intake, thereby improving the water supply to Tičarjev Dom on Vršič. Numerous companies contributed to the construction, as did many Slovenian mountaineers through various mountaineering societies, with the greatest support coming from the Jesenice Ironworks and the Alpine Association of Slovenia. Above all, members of the Mountain Rescue Service, the Alpinist Section, and the Youth Section of the Jesenice Mountaineering Society contributed around 6,000 volunteer work hours.

Given that the new Erjavčeva Hut will be open year-round, it would be welcome to hear assurances in the near future that the road from Kranjska Gora over Vršič to Trenta will also remain open and passable throughout the year.

The New Erjavčeva Hut on Vršič (1993)