This Friday I was planning something big - Triglav, Grintavec or Jalovec; however, my faithful companion Zor was determined to visit his lovely queen.. Rodica. The mountain is almost 2000m high, but don't let the height fool you - I'm talking about a serious challenge, which takes a lot of energy, but always rewards you in the end. The normal approach is from the North, where spring is the best time for skiing, while the shadow slopes are usually quite icy, crusty and dangerous in the winter. The last couple of days have been really hot and sunny while meters of snow cannot just melt that easy. This means that you can go ski-touring and at the same time - feel like sunbathing on the beach. Zor was not feeling the best, so he ended the trip on the meadow Suha, where a veteran skier gave him snaps and amused him in the meanwhile. I quickly jumped on Rodica, and had one of the best ski descents in this season (5-10cm of melted snow). When I returned to the meadow, it was time for sunbathing and listening to the veteran. He told us stories of a glacier that existed below Rodica around 50 years ago. He was herding cattle on the meadow during the Second World War (you can calculate his age:), and is truly a living legend. He is in retirement for 20 years now, has a small mountain hut on the meadow and goes ski touring almost every day. When he has enough, he simply skies straight to his doorstep in the village (Laški Rovt) below. He skied so quickly that Zor and I could barely follow him, as he showed us shortcuts and steep ravines that lead to the valley. I really respect the guy - and this is definitely the kind of retirement I'm striving for:)
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