In 2024 the Croatian Mountaineering Association (CMA) is celebrating the 150th anniversary of organised mountaineering in Croatia.
The origins of organised mountaineering in Croatia were conceived in 1874, when the Croatian Mountain Club (Hrvatsko planinsko društvo) was founded in Zagreb. The Croatian Mountain Club has from its beginning had the character of a national mountaineering association, and as such has been developing mountaineering in all parts of Croatia. In the beginning, the mountaineering association was mainly composed of naturalists and other researchers, many of whom were also the founders of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the University of Zagreb, and initiators of many scientific, cultural and social events. In 1898 the journal the Croatian mountaineer (Hrvatski planinar) was first published, thus being one of the oldest journals in Croatia as well as one of the oldest mountaineering journals in the world still in print.
Croatian climbers have climbed the biggest and hardest rock faces in the world. They have made dozens of demanding expeditions to the world’s highest mountains, from the first Croatian expedition which climbed the new route on Ingosfjeld on Greenland in 1971 to the summit of the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, in 1979. They were the first to climb some of the hardest rock faces in the Himalayas, they have made numerous expedition ascents to peaks over 8000m, and even skied down some of them, while members of the Croatian female expedition raised the Croatian flag on top of Mount Everest in 2009. Croatian speleologists have descended into the deepest pits in Croatia and the world and brought to light numerous findings, many of which have scientific relevance. In 1950 the Croatian Mountaineering Association founded the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, which developed strongly and became a recognisable public rescue service in all non-urban areas where special rescue knowledge, skills and equipment are required.
Today the Croatian Mountaineering Association (CMA) unites 292 mountaineering clubs, 10 regional mountaineering associations, 12 mountain guide stations, Croatian mountain rescue service and their 25 stations. The Croatian Mountaineering Association is one of the largest sport associations in Croatia and the largest non-governmental organisation committed to nature protection. Croatian mountaineers actively maintain more than 6,000 kilometres of marked hiking trails, 114 mountain huts and 47 shelters in Croatia. Of special interest to the mountaineering community is a number of mountaineering trails, the most popular being the Croatian Mountain Trail (Hrvatska planinarska obilaznica), connecting the most attractive peaks in all Croatian mountains with 158 checkpoints and six levels of acknowledgment. According to the CMA programs, more than a hundred mountaineering schools of different kinds are held every year. Mountaineering trips, tours and hikes in mountaineering clubs are led by voluntary mountain leaders and guides who were trained at the CMA according to UIAA standards. The CMA is also very active in publishing various textbooks, manuals, guidebooks, notebooks and other publications.
With the celebration of the 150th anniversary of organised mountaineering in Croatia in 2024, the Croatian Mountaineering Association presents the rich tradition and numerous achievements of Croatian mountaineering to the whole mountaineering community as well as the general public. In January and February a climbing expedition to Patagonia was organised. In May 2024 the CMA hosted the General Assembly of the European Union of Mountaineering Associations (EUMA) in the Paklenica National Park on Velebit Mountain. Mountaineering clubs which are members of the CMA take part in the celebration by organising and participating in a series of 150 interesting mountaineering trips to Croatian mountains called “150 hiking trips for 150 years of organised mountaineering in Croatia”. To further mark the anniversary, the Croatian Mountaineering Association opened a new hiking trail on Croatia’s highest mountain, Dinara (1831 m), and on October 15, 2024, celebrated exactly 150 years since the founding of the Croatian Mountaineering Club in Zagreb. On that day, Croatian Post issued a postage stamp dedicated to the 150th anniversary of mountaineering in Croatia.
The UIAA is delighted to share the story of this historic and illustrious mountaineering association. At the upcoming UIAA General Assembly in Malta, a special presentation will be held to mark this milestone. Furthermore, it will be the 32nd year for the current President of the association, Darko Berljak, representing the CMA at the UIAA General Assembly. He has been a representative of the CMA since the UIAA GA in 1992 (Matsumoto) right through until 2024.
Images courtesy of CMA
Article supplied by CMA President Darko Berljak and CMA General Secretary Alan Čaplar
