I have to admit that I don't belong to this group, but I still know and feel how beautiful and special mountains are, except that I prefer to go there in other ways than on foot 🙂 How very different from Štefan ...
Štefan Matjaž is a native of Upper Savinja who is simply in love with the mountains. They are a challenge and a joy, as well as an escape and a solace. He spends almost every free moment climbing to the top of a peak and enjoying the magnificent view of the world below. Sometimes he hikes with company, other times alone with his own thoughts. He says that both have their charm.
His love for the mountains is also the reason why he was licensed as a guide by the Slovenian Mountaineering Association a few years ago, giving him the opportunity to bring the magic of the grey peaks to other hikers. But how to bring them closer to everyone? How to help those who either cannot see the magical views at the top or cannot hear the rustling of dry leaves underfoot and the birdsong that accompanies their steps to feel the magic of the mountains?
Stefan asked himself the same question and decided to find a solution. In 2020, he completed training to work with people with special needs in mountaineering, such as the blind and partially sighted, the deaf and hard of hearing, and those in wheelchairs. Shortly afterwards, he volunteered on his first mountain hike with a blind client.
"The first time I escorted a blind client into the mountains, I was very nervous and it really wasn't easy," he confides, adding that it was still an incredible feeling. Just hiking in the mountains was completely different. He often had to give the guardian vocal directions and help him with his walking stick, as this was the only way he could walk safely on the trail. But then he also noticed that blind people have an excellent sense of orientation and can easily know when there is a building nearby, when they have reached a precipice and so on. They can sense the direction of the wind, hear the rustling of leaves and experience the world in a completely different way to sighted people.
But the fact that Štefan had to be even more attentive and watch out for two people when hiking in the mountains helped him to feel the mountains and the surroundings in a different way, even more intensely and in a special way, he confides in me.
A lot of water has passed since then, or rather a lot of steps have been taken. Today, Štefan also leads groups of blind and deaf people on the mountain. He uses sign language to help him communicate with the deaf, which he also started to learn voluntarily, and has made several steps to date. He is happy that he has been able to bring the mountains closer to those who would otherwise find it difficult to feel and experience them. This was the main reason why he embarked on this particularly difficult but very fulfilling journey.
Maja Horvat, 6 May 2025
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