Makalu 8481m – Slovenia's First Eight-thousander

October 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Makalu by Slovenian climbers. This golden jubilee presents an opportunity to revive the memory of the achievement with which Slovenia joined the ranks of the finest Himalayan climbers. We did not summit the first Slovenian eight-thousanders, the 8481-metre Mount Makalu, by the route of the first climbers or by any of the routes we had already climbed. We took a new, pioneering route on the mountain's striking, 2500-metre south face. At the time, one of the first routes in the eight-thousander’s looming walls. Even today, the "Yugoslav Route", named after our former country, is one of the greatest achievements in the history of Himalayan climbing on a global scale.

Slovenian Himalayan climbing is linked to Mount Makalu more closely than any other eight-thousander. It was on its south face that the right course and vision were developed, which twenty years later, in the 1990s, helped to rank Slovenia among the leading Himalayan superpowers.

The successful ascent of Makalu led to a series of monumental achievements by Slovenian Himalayan climbers. History has testified to the potential that was unlocked by this successful expedition. Over the following twenty years, Slovenians became the ninth nation to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders. As members of the Makalu ‘75 expedition, we were the first Slovenians to subsequently reach the summits of another ten eight-thousanders. In total, we have made 23 ascents of mountains recognised as being more than 8,000 metres in height, in addition to many other challenging climbs in the world’s most diverse mountain ranges. 
On the 50th anniversary of the ascent, I decided to visit the Makalu base camp again. I informed all 15 surviving members of the journey I planned to make, and three of the veterans joined me: Stane Klemenc, Ivč Kotnik, Bojan and Pollak. Our travelling party included twelve family members, friends and acquaintances from previous visits to the Himalayas.

Makalu was first summited in 1955. Over the next twenty years, until 1975, only twenty climbers reached the summit. On average, only one per year. And there are seven Slovenians among these twenty pioneers.

Viki Grošelj
 

Makalu 1975 expedition:
Expedition leader: Aleš Kunaver. Members: Janko Ažman, Stane Belak – Šrauf, Zoran Bešlin, Danilo Cedilnik – Den, Janez Dovžan, Boris Erjavec, Viki Grošelj, Tomaž Jamnik - Mišo, Stane Klemenc, Ivč Kotnik, Janez Lončar – Šodr, Marjan Manfreda – Marjon, Bojan Pollak – Bojč, Milan Rebula, Roman Robas, Jože Rožič, Dušan Srečnik – Zobač, Nejc Zaplotnik, doctor Damijan Meško, cameraman Rado Riedl