Third Episode of the Mountain Guides Podcast

In the third installment of the National Association of Mountain Guides of the Slovak Republic podcast, we invite you directly to the heart of the High Tatras – to Vila Alica in Starý Smokovec, where the Mountain Guides’ Association is based. This time we discuss the tradition, history, and significance of the Mountain Guides’ Festival, which for more than three decades has brought together mountain guides, their clients, and all mountain lovers.

The episode’s guests are mountain guides:

• Róbert Turjaník
• Ivan Krajcir

We discuss:
⛰️ the history of mountain guiding in the High Tatras
🎉 the tradition of the Mountain Guides’ Festival
🪢 the blessing of ropes and ice axes before the summer season
🏔️ legends of Tatra mountain guiding
🤝 relationships between mountain guides and clients
🍷 the atmosphere of mountain guide gatherings after tours
🌄 the beginning of the summer season in the High Tatras

You will also learn:

• why the Mountain Guides’ Festival was established,
• how this tradition has evolved since 1995,
• which personalities shaped mountain guiding in the Tatras,
• why it is important to pass on experience to the younger generation,
• and what makes mountain guiding more than just a profession.

📍 Recorded at Vila Alica, Starý Smokovec