The Impact of in North Macedonia Rock Climbing

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Impact of in North Macedonia Rock Climbing CASE STUDY The Impact of Rock Climbing in North Macedonia THE IMPACT OF ROCK CLIMBING IN NORTH MACEDONIA August 2020 1 THE CLIMBING INITIATIVE ABOUT THE CLIMBING INITIATIVE The Climbing Initiative is a Colorado-based nonprofit supporting climbing communities worldwide. Through research, community engagement, and partnerships, we bring together organizations invested in the future of climbing and develop best practices for supporting the growth of climbing in emerging contexts. We believe rock climbing can empower individuals, create new sources of livelihood, and foster the development of a more sustainable and equitable world. climbinginitiative.org Cover photo by Goran Kuzmanovski Natalija Ristevska climbing the Krali Marko highball boulder in Prilep Design by Mario Minchevski behance.net/mDesign | @mario.minchevski Photographers Goran Kuzmanovski | @goran.kuzeto Keti Talevska | @keti_talevska Cosima Vom Meer | @cosivmeer Veronica Baker | @vero.baker Copyright © 2020 The Climbing2 Initiative. All rights reserved. CASE STUDY The Impact of Rock Climbing in North Macedonia CONTENTS 1 Summary 2 Introduction 4 History 9 Economic Impact 13 Social Impact 15 Enviromental Impact 18 Challenges & Opportunities 23 Recommendations 25 Conclusions 3 THE CLIMBING INITIATIVE 4 Biljana Talevska climbing in Demir Kapija Photo by Goran Kuzmanovski CASE STUDY The Impact of Rock Climbing in North Macedonia SUMMARY North Macedonia counts approximately 1,300 sport climbing and bouldering routes, but locals estimate that 90 percent of the country’s climbing areas remain undiscovered. Although the country carries a strong tradition of mountaineering, climbing is still in an early stage of development, marked by little public understanding of the sport. The Macedonian government is enthusiastic about promoting outdoor tourism. Some areas, such as Prilep and Demir Kapija, experience a steady flow of climbing tourists, but others have yet to capitalize on the rocks in their backyard. Mountain sports have had a significant social impact as a unifying force among ex-Yugoslavian countries and a tool for positive psychosocial development. Trash and environmental degradation are serious issues in North Macedonia, and some hope that outdoor sports like climbing will inspire Macedonians to develop a more intimate relationship with nature. To fulfill its potential as a top climbing destination, North Macedonia must see increased public awareness of climbing, institutional support, publicity, and collaboration between the mountain sports federations. 1 Photo by Goran Kuzmanovski SUMMARY THE CLIMBING INITIATIVE INTRODUCTION North Macedonia, a country nested in STUDY OBJECTIVES the Balkans, is an emerging climbing destination. Its rich history of moun- The Climbing Initiative conducts case taineering acts as a foundation for the studies on climbing areas and com- growth of sport climbing and boulder- munities at varying stages of devel- ing in the modern era. The country is opment around the world. We believe home to a small but dedicated group that communicating patterns in the of climbers and it welcomes a respect- context of climbing worldwide has the potential to change how organiza- tions and communities interact around climbing-related issues. North Macedonia, a country nested in STUDY AREA the Balkans, is an North Macedonia (known as emerging climbing Macedonia before 2019) is a country destination in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe, which gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. The 25,713-square-kilometer able number of European climbing (9,928-square-mile) landlocked country tourists to its most popular boulders is neighbor to Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, and crags each year. While the popu- Greece, and Albania. It is home to 2.08 larity of climbing has excellent poten- million people, a quarter of whom live tial to grow in North Macedonia, a lack in the capital and largest city, Skopje. of public awareness and understand- North Macedonia is blessed with ing of the sport holds it back. This case remarkable natural wonders, from high study sheds light on this lesser-known mountain massifs to expansive national climbing destination and provides rec- parks and one of the oldest lakes in ommendations to help it flourish. Europe. This study was conducted at several sites, including Skopje, 2 INTRODUCTION CASE STUDY The Impact of Rock Climbing in North Macedonia BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA SERBIA MONTENEGRO CROATIA KOSOVO BULGARIA NORTH MACEDONIA ALBANIA ITALY BISLIMSKA KLISURA SKOPJE GREECE KADINA MATKA MAVROVO PLOCHA NORTH MACEDONIA DEMIR KAPIJA PRILEP Mavrovo National Park, Demir Kapija, OHRID Prilep, Ohrid, Zli Dol, and Lake Prespa. PELISTER BITOLA ZLI DOL METHODOLOGY PRESPA In August 2019, The Climbing Initia- tive conducted a case study on the study employed snowball sampling impacts of rock climbing in North and semi-structured interviews. Macedonia. The principal research- ers, Ludivine Brunissen and Veronica SUPPORT Baker, carried out interviews with a variety of climbers, business owners, This study was supported by funds government officials, and others with from the Jackson Institute for Global knowledge of the impacts of climbing Affairs at Yale University. in the country. Interview questions focused on the history of climbing in CONTACT North Macedonia; its economic, so- cial, and environmental effects; rela- The Climbing Initiative welcomes feed- tionships between local businesses, back and opportunities for future re- municipalities, climbing developers, search. We would love to hear from and tourists; challenges they currently you. Please feel free to reach out to face; attempts to address those chal- [email protected] or find us on lenges; and hopes for the future. The Instagram at @theclimbinginitiative. 3 INTRODUCTION THE CLIMBING INITIATIVE Adam Ondra establishing Czech Trip (9a+) in Mavrovo Cave Photo by Dimitar Popov HISTORY MOUNTAINEERING AND THE sport route, Jumbo Jet (7a), was not EMERGENCE OF CLIMBING bolted until 1990 by Vladimir Trpovski and Lazar Lazarov. Today, there are still Rock climbing is a relatively new phe- fewer rock climbing clubs than moun- nomenon in North Macedonia, despite taineering clubs, but the numbers are the country’s rich history of mountain- steadily increasing. Goran Nikoloski, eering spanning more than a century. President of the Mountain Guide Com- While organized rock climbing began mission of North Macedonia, believes in the country in the 1970s, the first “interest is really growing for climbing 4 HISTORY CASE STUDY The Impact of Rock Climbing in North Macedonia and other extreme sports,” fueled by After almost 50 years as one of the six the country’s recent economic growth republics of the Socialist Federal Re- and political stability. “Psychologically, public of Yugoslavia, the Republic of we weren’t very open to tourists. There Macedonia declared independence on was the war in Bosnia, and there were September 8th, 1991. While Macedo- some political problems in 2001, but nians are proud of their newly indepen- now everything is improving. Kosovo dent country, many look back fondly on and Serbia still have some issues, but their Yugoslavian past. Ilina Arsova, an it is calmer now, which leads to more accomplished climber, mountaineer, interest in sports and tourism.” and the first Macedonian woman to reach the Seven Summits, reminisces Despite this, the development of climb- about her country’s historical athletic ing in North Macedonia has been achievements with nostalgia. “It seems slow-paced compared to its neighbors like there was a great sports culture in Greece, Slovenia, and Bulgaria. Natali- the time of Yugoslavia, which we don’t ja Ristevska, a member of the climbing have now. So it was somehow lost in club Vertical Bitola, attributes this to lo- this time,” she said. Arsova attributes cation: “We were part of the same coun- this shift to poor physical education in try in Yugoslavia, but Slovenia is really schools, the loss of partnerships with Photo by Dimitar Popov close to Austria and Austrians had a big other ex-Yugoslavian countries, and a impact there. I think their mental state is general feeling of stagnation experi- still Balkan, but they try to be like other enced by some Balkan countries fol- European countries, and they managed lowing the Yugoslav wars. well, really well.” Jovica Ugrinovski, President of the Mountaineering Feder- ation of North Macedonia, believes that financial support from the government has also played an important role in the rapid development of climbing in coun- tries such as Greece, “because the lo- cal community saw that they can benefit by developing climbing in the region. Greek clubs are very well supported fi- nancially by the local authorities and the government,” he said. “This has started Macedonian mountaineers ascending Mount Shara in 1929 in Macedonia, and I hope it will be bet- ter and better in the future.” Photo by Federation of Mountaineering Sports of Macedonia 5 HISTORY THE CLIMBING INITIATIVE Three independent bodies govern DEVELOPMENT OF SPORT mountain sports in North Macedonia: CLIMBING the mountaineering federation (fo- cused on high-altitude hiking and the While traditional climbing grew natu- management of mountain huts), the rally from the longstanding populari- alpinism federation (focused on tech- ty of mountaineering, sport climbing nical mountain ascents), and the sport developed slowly from a self-funded, climbing federation (focused on bolt- do-it-yourself approach that persists ing, competitive
Recommended publications
  • ENVIRONMENTAL and SOCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN (ESMP) CHECKLIST North Macedonia Emergency COVID-19 Response Project P173916
    COVID-19 STRATEGIC PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE PROGRAM (SPRP) ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN (ESMP) CHECKLIST North Macedonia Emergency COVID-19 Response Project P173916 “Installation of mobile COVID 19 Hospital within the hospital in the City of Prilep” October 2020 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN (ESMP) CHECKLIST North Macedonia Emergency COVID-19 Response Project P173916 - Prilep “Installation of mobile COVID 19 hospital within the hospital in the City of Prilep” 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Project Description and planned activities ...................................................................................... 4 3. Environmental Category ................................................................................................................. 6 4. Potential Environmental Impacts .................................................................................................... 6 5. Purpose of the Checklist ESMP ...................................................................................................... 7 6. Application of the Checklist ESMP ................................................................................................ 8 7. Grievance Mechanism .....................................................................................................................9 8. Monitoring and reporting .............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Demographic and Infrastructure Problems of Villages in the Hilly-Mountainous Areas of Prilep
    Journal of Earth Science and Engineering 3 (2013) 569-581 D DAVID PUBLISHING Demographic and Infrastructure Problems of Villages in the Hilly-Mountainous Areas of Prilep Cane Koteski, Dushko Josheski, Zlatko Jakovlev, Snezana Bardarova and Vladimir Kitanov Faculty of Tourism and Business Logistics, Goce Delchev University of Shtip, Gevgelija 1480, Republic of Macedonia Received: June 15, 2013/Accepted: July 20, 2013/Published: August 25, 2013. Abstract: In this paper it has been investigated the issue of the dynamics of the rural population in villages in the mountainous areas of the municipality of Prilep height distribution of the mountainous villages, the area size, absolute density and agrarian population in hilly-mountainous villages, the distance of the hill-mountain villages of the municipality center and institutional infrastructure hilly-mountainous areas in Prilep. Despite the demographic decline that was made in the past 45 years, the municipality and the country will have even more incentive in the coming years to invest in infrastructure to improve little very bad living conditions and foremost here we think of infrastructure, roads, water drinking, clinics, veterinary stations, public transportation, gas stations, stores, construction of ethnic restaurants and small hotels so that at least the older generations of the cities as the least retirement to spend at home, to create minimum conditions for living and so that villages in hilly and mountainous villages to be attractive to younger generations of the cities and migrant workers from European countries and America Australia frequently to visit home, and to be able to invest in small commercial buildings in the area of tourism.
    [Show full text]
  • Legislation for the Reuse of Biosolids on Agricultural Land in Europe: Overview
    sustainability Review Legislation for the Reuse of Biosolids on Agricultural Land in Europe: Overview Maria Cristina Collivignarelli 1 , Alessandro Abbà 2, Andrea Frattarola 1, Marco Carnevale Miino 1 , Sergio Padovani 3, Ioannis Katsoyiannis 4,* and Vincenzo Torretta 5 1 Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, University of Pavia, via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy; [email protected] (M.C.C.); [email protected] (A.F.); [email protected] (M.C.M.) 2 Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy; [email protected] 3 ARPA Lombardia, Pavia Department, via Nino Bixio 13, 27100 Pavia, Italy; [email protected] 4 Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Chemical and Environmental Technology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece 5 Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, via G.B. Vico 46, 21100 Varese, Italy; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 17 September 2019; Accepted: 25 October 2019; Published: 29 October 2019 Abstract: The issues concerning the management of sewage sludge produced in wastewater treatment plants are becoming more important in Europe due to: (i) the modification of sludge quality (biological and chemical sludge are often mixed with negative impacts on sludge management, especially for land application); (ii) the evolution of legislation (landfill disposal is banned in many European countries); and (iii) the technologies for energy and material recovery from sludge not being fully applied in all European Member States. Furthermore, Directive 2018/851/EC introduced the waste hierarchy that involved a new strategy with the prevention in waste production and the minimization of landfill disposal.
    [Show full text]
  • Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission of the Republic of North Macedonia in 2018
    ENERGY AND WATER SERVICES REGULATORY COMMISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA APRIL 2019 ANNUAL REPORT 201 8 Annual Report of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission of the Republic of North Macedonia in 2018 ENERGY AND WATER SERVICES REGULATORY COMMISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA ___________________________________________________________________ The Annual Report of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission of the Republic of North Macedonia for 2018 has been prepared in accordance with Article 36 from the Energy Law, which establishes the obligation of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission to submit the Annual Report for its operation during the previous year to the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, not later than 30th of April of the current year. The Annual Report of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission for 2018 contains detailed information on the performance of the competences according to the Energy Law and the Law on Setting Prices of Water Services, as well as information on the material-financial operation. The Energy Law also determines that the Annual Report of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission needs to be submitted to the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Ministry competent for the performance of the assignments within the energy area, so that they could be informed, as well as to the Energy Community Secretariat. The Report contains overview of the activities performed by the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission during 2018, with special review of: − State of the energy markets, − State of the prices and tariffs regulation, − Preparing regulatory acts, − International activities and − Financial Statement of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission.
    [Show full text]
  • Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites Volume 1
    VIA FERRATAS OF THE ITALIAN DOLOMITES VOLUME 1 About the Author VIA FERRATAS OF James Rushforth is an experienced professional climber, mountaineer, skier and high-liner. His book The Dolomites: Rock Climbs and Via Ferrata was THE ITALIAN DOLOMITES nominated for the Banff Film Festival Book Award and was cited as ‘the best Dolomite guidebook ever produced’ (SA Mountain Magazine). James VOLUME 1 also works as a professional photographer and has won 12 international photography competitions and published work in numerous magazines by James Rushforth and papers including National Geographic, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. He has written tutorial and blog posts for a number of popular media platforms such as Viewbug and 500px, and appeared as a judge in several global competitions. Although based in the UK, James spends much of his time explor- ing the Italian Dolomites and is one of the leading authorities on the region – particularly with regards to photography and extreme sports. He is part of the Norrøna Pro Team and is kindly supported by Breakthrough Photography, Landcruising and Hilleberg. James can be contacted at www.jamesrushforth.com. Other Cicerone guides by the author Ski Touring and Snowshoeing in the Dolomites JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS, OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL www.cicerone.co.uk © James Rushforth 2018 CONTENTS First edition 2018 ISBN: 978 1 85284 846 0 Map key ...................................................... 9 Overview map ................................................ 10 This guide further develops and replaces the previous guide by Graham Fletcher Route summary table ........................................... 12 and John Smith with the same title published under ISBNs 9781852843625 and Foreword .................................................... 17 9781852845926 in 2002 and 2009 respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring Slovenia's Julian Alps and Beyond
    Exploring Slovenia’s Julian Alps and Beyond Two Treks and Balkan Culture in an Undiscovered Corner of the Alps August 30, 2021 – September 13, 2021 – Trip #2167 Triglav National Park Overview Join us for a wonderful fifteen-day trip to the undiscovered hiking and scenic paradise of Slovenia. We will pass medieval castles, churches, and traditional mountain villages as we walk through valleys, across mountain pastures, and traverse mountain ridges with towering peaks all around us. This trip combines two rugged short treks (one carrying all our gear and staying in mountain huts, and the other staying in hotels with luggage transport), an exciting ascent to Slovenia’s highest peak, and visits to the most scenic and interesting regions of this small, but incredibly beautiful country. A few words about Slovenia itself: it is a small country located in southern central Europe at the intersection of major trade routes and of the Slavic, Germanic, and Romance languages and cultures. Historically part of many empires including Rome, Austro-Hungarian, Venice, and France, it is currently a prosperous, democratic European country of two million persons. Over 50% of its landmass remains forested. It is exceptionally bio-diverse for its size particularly as pertains to endemic cave species. Slovenia’s Place in Europe Trip Difficulty This trip is rated strenuous #6. Trip Rating System. Excluding breaks we will hike from five to ​ ​ seven hours per day, between 6 and 14 miles, with an average elevation gain of about 2500 feet. The terrain is rugged and steep in places, and requires agility. There will be sections on narrow trails with exposure (steep drop-offs).
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of on Kalymnos Rock Climbing
    CASE STUDY The Impact of Rock Climbing on Kalymnos THE IMPACT OF ROCK CLIMBING ON KALYMNOS February 2020 1 THE CLIMBING INITIATIVE ABOUT THE CLIMBING INITIATIVE The Climbing Initiative is a Colorado-based nonprofit supporting climbing communities worldwide. Through research, community engagement, and partnerships, we bring together organizations invested in the future of climbing and develop best practices for supporting the growth of climbing in emerging contexts. We believe rock climbing can empower individuals, create new sources of livelihood, and foster the development of a more sustainable and equitable world. climbinginitiative.org Cover photo by Nikolaos Smalios Design by Mario Minchevski behance.net/mDesign Photographers Veronica Baker and Nikolaos Smalios Copyright © 2020 The Climbing2 Initiative. All rights reserved. Version 1.3 CASE STUDY The Impact of Rock Climbing on Kalymnos CONTENTS 1 Summary 2 Introduction 5 History 9 Economic Impact 12 Social Impact 15 Environmental Impact 18 Challenges & Opportunities 25 Recommendations 28 Conclusions 3 THE CLIMBING INITIATIVE 4 Luisa Zoe Millonig powering up the tufas on Sevasti (7b) at the Iannis sector Photo by Veronica Baker CASE STUDY The Impact of Rock Climbing on Kalymnos SUMMARY Kalymnos has more than 3,400 routes on a 109 square kilometer (42 square mile) island and receives thousands of climbing tourists every year. Climbing has injected new life into the island’s economy and mitigated the effects of the Greek economic crisis. A significant social shift is occurring as locals embrace climbing tourism, though there is still not a great degree of integration between climbers and locals. While climbers have relatively low environmental impact, environmental practices throughout Kalymnos need to be improved to preserve the island.
    [Show full text]
  • Kilian Jornet, Galardonado Con Un Pitón De Oro 2013 , 26/12/13 ,26/12
    Kilian Jornet, galardonado con un Pitón de Oro 2013. Desnivel http://desnivel.com/cultura/kilian-jornet-galardonado-con-un-piton-de-... ,26/12/13, 26/12/13 OTORGADOS POR LA REVISTA CLIMBING Kilian Jornet, galardonado con un Pitón de Oro 2013 La revista estadounidense Climbing ha premiado al catalán en la categoría de velocidad por sus récords en el Mont Blanc y el Matterhorn. Adam Ondra y Chris Sharma, Alex Megos, Jimmy Webb y Hazel Findlay también han sido reconocidos. Desnivel.com - Jueves, 26 de Diciembre de 2013 - Actualizado a las 07:50h. La revista estadounidense Climbing ha hecho públicos los prestigiosos premios Golden Pitons (Pitones de Oro) que otorga cada año a las actividades más destacadas de la escalada mundial según diferentes puntos de vista. Kilian Jornet se ha hecho acreedor de uno de dichos galardones, en la categoría de velocidad, por sus impresionantes ascensiones exprés a montañas tan emblemáticas como el Mont Blanc o el Matterhorn, cuyo récords ostenta. La página web de la revista americana publica una introducción a la noticia acerca del premio a Kilian diciendo: "Los escaladores se han preguntado desde hace tiempo qué podría pasar si atletas de calibre olímpico de otros deportes trajeran su fuerza y resistencia al mundo vertical. Ahora, tenemos una idea bastante buena: el runner catalán Kilian Jornet Burgada está liquidando sistemáticamente los récords de velocidad en los picos más famosos del mundo". A continuación, Climbing pasa a resumir algunas de sus victorias en competiciones en carreras a pie y en esquí de montaña, para señalar que "Jornet ha escalado desde que era un niño, y en los dos últimos años, ha centrado su capacidad aeróbica casi sobrehumana en retos más técnicos".
    [Show full text]
  • MEDIA GUIDE 2018 Englisch
    CON 1. WELCOME NOTE ////////////////////////////////////// TENTS ////// ////////////////// ////////////////// Dear media representatives, 1. Welc ome Note Welcome to adidas ROCKSTARS 2018! We are thrilled to host the eighth edition of our interna - 2. tional bouldering invitational at Stuttgart’s beautiful Porsche-Arena, one of the most modern General In 02 sports arenas in Europe. formation 3. for the Me Schedule dia 04 This year’s event sees over 70 top class athletes from over 20 different countries including 4. multiple Bouldering World Champions, the overall winners and top athletes of the 2018 Boul - adidas ROC 07 dering World Cup, the two-time overall champion and current front-runner of the Lead World KSTARS 4.1 Cup, the two reigning European Bouldering Champions as well as the four-time World Champion General In 08 Combined (Boulder/Lead/Speed). You can look forward to a stellar season finale! formatio 4.2 n Prize Mon 08 When we first came up with the idea for adidas ROCKSTARS, nearly every single athlete we ey talked to mentioned that the best competitions are the ones with a great atmosphere and 4.3 Hea d Referee 13 good music. That input encouraged us to implement our idea of combining ‘climbing’ with 4 ‘music’ live on stage. This year, world-famous MC & Beatboxer DJ Eklips from Paris will heat .4 Regul ations (Abs 12 up the crowds during the final together with extreme sports DJs Chainsaw and Sungod. The 4 tract) renowned American rock climber and hobby dj Dave Graham, who was the fourth person to .5 Partic ipating Cou 19 send Wolfgang Güllich’s legendary route ‘Action Directe (the world’s first 9a), will be spinning ntries the tunes at the after party.
    [Show full text]
  • Adam Ondra Climbs the World's First 9C (5.15D)
    Adam Ondra Climbs the World’s First 9c (5.15d) Prague/Norway - Sep 4, 2017 – Yesterday, Adam Ondra, one of the best rock climbers in the world, made a little piece of climbing history. He finished his project in the Hanshelleren Cave, Flatanger, Norway and established the world’s first 9c route, currently the hardest and only route of this grade in the world. After succeeding at Dawn Wall last year when he repeated the route in a very fast time, the Czech climber Adam Ondra once again set new limits of rock climbing when he successfully sent his project of 9c route in the spectacular Hanshelleren Cave in Norway. Adam has not yet named the route though he has used the working title Project Hard on many occasions in the past. He bolted the route in 2013 and focused on it last year and also this year’s entire season. He made seven trips to Norway and in total spent months there. Also he trained specifically for the project since the beginning of this year and worked closely with a physiotherapist Klaus Isele who helped him to prepare for the very specific moves. All that came together in 20 minutes of super intense climbing at the end of which stands the hardest route in the world and a new scope of what can be achieved in rock climbing. Adam Ondra about sending 9c (5.15d): „In the morning it felt like every other day on the Project. It was hot, but the air was crystal clear and dry. But I felt very little pressure and lot of psyche.
    [Show full text]
  • Via Ferrata: a Short Introduction Giuliano Bressan, Claudio Melchiorri CAI – Club Alpino Italiano
    Via Ferrata: A short introduction Giuliano Bressan, Claudio Melchiorri CAI – Club Alpino Italiano 1. Introduction In the last years, the number of persons climbing “vie ferrate” has rapidly increased, and this manner of approaching mountains is becoming more and more popular among mountaineers and hikers, in particular among young persons. The terms “via ferrata” and “sentiero attrezzato” (or equipped path) indicate that a set of fixed equipment (metallic ropes, ladders, chains, bridges, …) is installed along an itinerary in order to facilitate its ascension, guaranteeing at the same time a good margin of security. In this manner, also non extremely expert persons may have the opportunity to approach mountains and vertical walls that would be climbable, without this equipment, only by means of standard climbing techniques and equipment (i.e. rope, pitons, and so on). With this fixed equipment it is then possible to grant almost to everybody the emotion of altitudes and the excitement of vertical walls, without taking major risks and without being involved, possibly, in dangerous situations. Nevertheless, practicing “vie ferrate” should not be compared with the classical climbing activity. As a matter of fact, also considering the physical and psychological engagement necessary in any case to climb a “via ferrata” (some are very difficult from a technical and physical point of view), very different are the technical skills, the experience, the capabilities and the emotional control needed to face in a proper way any negative situation possibly occurring in a mountaineering activity. Nowadays, the term “via ferrata” has been internationally adopted, although in some countries they are also known as Klettersteig (this word indicates the specific karabiners to be used in this activity).
    [Show full text]
  • Tourism Development and Promotion Project Overview of Awarded Grants
    This project is funded by the European Union Tourism Development and Promotion Project rd Overview of Awarded Grants – 3 Call for Proposals No Grant recipient Name of the Area of intervention RCC Grant Economies (Headquarters) action value in € covered by the action 1 Nucleus Albania Youth travel - Adventure tourism – Hiking and gastro tourism 53,950.50 AL, MK (Tirana) Walking through beauty and Establishment and promotion of anew cross-border hiking trail between culture Albania and North Macedonia in the Ohrid lake area encompassing gastro, religious, rural and ecological tourism attractions. Goal: Including some 100 women and youth run MSMEs in tourism industry. 2 Mountaineering Amazing Velež Adventure tourism – Via Dinarica (hiking and climbing) 52,938.00 BA Association Treskavica Development of 25 new kilometres of Via Dinarica hiking trail in Velež (Sarajevo) Mountian including via ferrata, planning and marking ten new alpine routes, training of 15 alpine and mountaniering guides, and promotion of new adventure tourism products through mountaniering maps. Goal: Improving quality of services and infrastructure along Via Dinarica. 3 Digital Future Promoting the Adventure tourism – Gastronomy 48,000.00 AL, (Tirana) Balkan Kosovo*, traditional Establishment of a network of gastro-tourism partners (restaurants, hotels, MK cuisine through tour operators) in three economies, development of a mobile app serving the use of digital as a gastro-tourism guide, and promotion of the app and regional gastro- means tourism offer through digital marketing campaign, as well as promotional videos and print products. Goal: Promoting local gastro-tourism businesses and improving customer experience. Fra Anđela Zvizdovića 1, UNITIC Tower B/6, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Tel.
    [Show full text]