Climbing Mrežce

In early April I wanted to spend some more time on the snow before it was finally gone, so the decision was made: I was going to climb one of the peaks above Pokljuka. I left home relatively late, hoping to catch a nice sunset at the top. After leaving the car at Planina Javorniki at about 3 p.m. I hurried uphill to the Lipanca hut. I had been thinking of hiking to Debela peč for a few weeks but I changed my mind at the hut as I knew the views would be much better from Mrežce.

Lipanca hut with my final destination, Mrežce, looming over it.

From the hut up the trail wasn't well-trodden at all. I had to trudge through heavy snow and this was actually one of the few sections with footprints. Not that they helped. :)

This was great exercise! Sloshing through wet snow and having to lift your feet high with every step - yeah!

Soon I reached the ridge and caught the first glimpse of the mountains beyond.

The summit wasn't far, but I sank into the snow up to my butt quite a few times slowing my progress considerably. :)

Glorious views. From Mali Draški vrh and Veliki Draški vrh (left) to Triglav and Rž (right).

Ski tourers' trails.

In a matter of seconds the clouds turned dark.

... and a few minutes later, when I had a quick self-portrait photo session, the mood changed completely.

I was patient and I waited. Sure enough, 20 minutes later the sun peeked from behind the clouds again.

Triglav and sun rays.

My goal was to wait for the sunset as it looked it was going to be a nice one.


But more clouds came and it didn't seem they were going away any time soon. These were the last beams illuminating Planika hut before it got completely cloudy and I rushed back down.

One last look back to where I had been, and off I was.

More photos here.

Piran Aquarium

I'd never been to the Piran Aquarium before and when my friend Kurty asked me to go there with him, I didn't hesitate. The place itself is small but packed with fish tanks and a plethora of aquatic animals. Shooting conditions were far from ideal with all the reflections in the glass, but with a bit of creativity the problems could be overcome.


















The day was sunny and warm, albeit a bit windy. Throngs of tourists came to bask in the sun, especially at the seaside cafes and restaurants. We walked around a bit, hiked to the nearby bay of Fiesa and finally took a few pictures in the town center before heading back home.


More photos here.

Pokljuka

Pokljuka is one of those places that I keep returning to regardless of the season and weather. Admittedly, these photos are a few months old, but they are still winter photos, taken on a particularly moody day: the sun, puffy clouds and an ominous dark mass obscuring the sky, all in a matter of hours. :)

In the morning, the sky was perfect blue with very picturesque puffy streaks.

From the south, though, layers of grey clouds started to hide the sun.

Soon there was drama in the sky! Perfect time for HDRs. ;)


The sun never reappeared that day.

Famous Pokljuka forests and some PS work. ;)

Spring skiing

Being in a temporary photographic black hole I have to resort to posting snapshots from my skiing trips taken with a compact camera. :) These are from last week, too, but the weather wasn't as nice as two days later.

This was probably the last day with some snow left in the valley. Btw, the town in the background is Kranj.

Storžič, the Košuta range and Kočna.

Ominous clouds above Kočna and Grintovec.

Kriška planina.

Velika planina.

My favorite training hill, Kamniški vrh, from a different perspective! :)

The TV tower.

Above the sea of clouds

With the weather forecast promising blue skies in the mountains there was only one thing to do: let's go skiing! I was a bit disappointed when I got up in the morning and the sky was overcast, but after checking the webcam on Krvavec we didn't hesitate. We drove to Kriška planina to avoid having to take the cable car, and we broke the layer of clouds at about 1100 meters. After that it was pure joy. The sun was shining, there was no wind and the pistes were to die for. They hadn't been groomed that well for quite a while, at least on all of my visits in the last few years.
As on most of my recent skiing trips I didn't lug my equipment with me, just a small compact camera. I think I'm getting lazy. :)