This year marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of Aleš Kunaver (June 23, 1935 – November 2, 1984), a distinguished Slovenian alpinist and leader of six Yugoslav Himalayan expeditions, filmmaker of the first Slovenian Himalayan films, designer of mountaineering equipment, lecturer, and publicist.
Aleš Kunaver brought Slovenian Himalayan climbing to the very top of modern alpinism. In 1960, he participated as a member of the first Slovenian expedition to the Himalayas (Trisul, India), at a time when Slovenian alpinists were still in the early stages of Himalayan climbing. By 1975, however, under his leadership, they had ascended to the forefront of the global alpine elite – successfully establishing a new route on the south face of Makalu and reaching the summit at 8,475 meters, setting a world record for the highest altitude achieved without supplemental oxygen. In the mid-1970s, he was faced with a dilemma: should he establish the first alpine school for Nepali guides in Manang, or lead an expedition to Mount Everest? He chose the former: »Everest is the goal, but Manang is the mission! The expedition will be completed, but the school is something lasting.« In 1981, they climbed a new route to the edge of the 3,300-meter-high south face of Lhotse, the fourth-highest mountain in the world. This achievement was recognized globally as the most challenging Himalayan climb to date. Aleš led his final expedition in 1984—to the eight-thousander Manaslu—and tragically died in a helicopter accident that same November.
On this occasion, we are highlighting as the Object of the Month for May one of his many decorations presented to him by Municipal Sports Association of Split (Savez za fizičku kulturu opčine Split) for his final expedition to Manaslu in 1984.
