Physical activity and health are very important to us at Pliva. And so, when years ago we were talking about which activity would best strengthen the ties between us, we all agreed: mountaineering.

We started slowly and gradually, each peak we ascended to was higher, and the final destination: Triglav. In 2017, our team climbed the pride of Slovenia for the first time. The feelings were amazing, for many of us it was the very first time we stood at the top of Slovenia. We have been upgrading our mountaineering endeavours ever since.

Triglav has become our tradition and we are keeping it alive, every year with a more difficult climb and a greater challenge. Because the safety and experience needed for difficult routes are important to us, and because mountains are unpredictable, our steps are constantly watched over by Mitja Šorn, an experienced mountain guide, and his team.

This year, we chose a very difficult route for our ascent to Triglav, the path across Plemenice or the legendary Bamberg route, which was renewed just this year. We prepared for the climb with Mitja by climbing via ferratas, whereby we started trusting ourselves and our abilities. However, the ascent was a real challenge. The unsteady weather conditions have quickly shown just how unpredictable the Alps can be – in less than 7 hours we experienced rain, wind, fog, snowfields, clouds, but ultimately we were rewarded with sun and solitude at the Aljaž Tower, which is a rare occasion.

“This is our fourth ascent to Triglav in a row, every year we go for a bigger challenge. After beating the north face last year, this year we sunk our teeth into the mighty peak by taking the most difficult marked route, the Bamberg route across Plemenice. And there were also more of us than the year before, which means that we have all progressed. We also gain experience on other hikes and inspire each other as good colleagues do. Only a team that understands and trusts each other can achieve this. I love being a part of this team,” said Matej Rukavina on just how remarkable this year’s ascent was.

Vladka Zalaznik, enthusiastically: “This is it, this is the feeling, together again on the highest Slovenian mountain. We were driven by high spirits and joy. I am proud of my colleagues and of myself, and of the fact that we were able to conquer the route across Plemenice to Triglav.”

You can watch the most interesting moments from our Triglav summit in the video below:

We love to be a part of the team and we are thankful to all our guides – Mitja, Igor and Luka, who encourage us and protect us on our adventures. We would also like to thank the cameraman Maks, who accompanied us and documented it all with his camera.

And a big thanks to all Pliva heroes!

Brigita Tetičkovič

Pliva Ljubljana, Country Manager