Monte Krn is in the Julian Alps of Slovenia, a mountain which we can see on our Slovenia and Friuli tour, although we don’t climb it on our itinerary. For our summer adventure this year we set off to reach its peak at 2,244 metres and to learn about the role it played in the First World War. It held an important strategic position during the war because it overlooked the Soča Valley. The Soča River is also known by the name of the Isonzo River, and flows out to the Adriatic Sea. When Italy entered the war against Austria-Hungary in 1915, the mountain became part of the Isonzo Front, where Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces fought a series of twelve major battles.
We started our ascent from the picturesque village of Drežnica at the foot of the mountain and then climbed 1,600 metres on the first day up to a cosy rifugio. The weather was kind to us: the rain and storms waited until we were safely inside the refuge with a warm fire and plenty of hot food. The only problem was that the kitchen had run out of wine (a disaster in HH terms!!) and there was a long walk in the rain to the loo!! It slept 42 but luckily there were only 3 of us as it might have been a bit too cosy! Amazingly they cooked us eggs for breakfast. The refuge manager’s mother had hiked up the previous week bringing 40 eggs, which they offered to special guests!
Our descent was more gradual as we split this over the following two days. The second refuge was much busier, being only a 2hr ascent from the valley. We had our own room (bunks!) and there was a bathroom, with hot water, just down the corridor. It was near beautiful Lake Krn which we passed en route.
Italian troops captured Monte Krn early in the war, and the surrounding mountains became the scene of fierce fighting. Soldiers faced not only enemy fire but also extreme cold, storms and avalanches, making the mountain warfare particularly harsh. On the hike we saw remains of trenches, fortifications and other discarded military weaponry. These items are a lasting reminder of the terrible human cost of the Battles of the Isonzo, where hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides lost their lives to the conflict. The challenges and futility of the mountain warfare and the extreme conditions were striking and thought-provoking. We couldn’t help but make comparisons as we hiked the trails for pleasure in all our modern weather-proof gear and comfortable walking boots.
Hikers on our Slovenia and Friuli tour do have the opportunity to visit the award-winning museum in Kobarid which is dedicated to the events of WW1. Our adventure was physically challenging but richly rewarding: the mountain is really an open-air museum still communicating the events which took place there over 100 years ago.
