The most successful sport climbers, alpinists, ski mountaineers and ice climbers in 2025, Pollak receives lifetime achievement award.

The most successful sport climbers, alpinists, ski mountaineers and ice climbers in 2025, Pollak receives lifetime achievement award.

The Alpine Association of Slovenia presented awards for outstanding achievements in alpinism, sport and ice climbing, and ski mountaineering for the year 2025 at the ceremonial alpinist-climbing evening on January 27 in the Festival Hall in Ljubljana. In sport climbing, the prestigious title was once again won by Janja Garnbret and Luka Potočar, a tribute was paid to Bojan Pollak for lifetime work in alpinism, the most successful female alpinist is Ana Baumgartner and male alpinist Nejc Marčič, in competitive ski mountaineering Klara Velepec and Klemen Španring stood out, the best competitive ice climbers are once again Maja Šuštar Habjan and Gregor Šegel.

The purpose of the selection by the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS) and its commissions for alpinism, sport climbing and mountain sports is to evaluate the highest quality alpinist ascents, top sport climbing achievements and successes in competitive ski mountaineering and ice climbing, and to present the most prominent achievements in these sports disciplines to the public. The ceremonial event was enriched by the music of the group Triad - climbing legends Vili Guček and Sandra Rihter and Melita Rozina Golob.
>>> BULLETIN Awarding of recognitions for outstanding achievements in alpinism, sport climbing, ski mountaineering and ice climbing 2025 (18 MB)



The recipients of the awards were proudly congratulated at the beginning by the vice-president of the Alpine Association of Slovenia Martin Šolar: "Alpinism, sport climbing, ice climbing and competitive ski mountaineering are disciplines that operate under the umbrella of the Alpine Association of Slovenia. The diverse activities of our umbrella organization therefore also include sports content. For the alpine association, this means responsibility, but at the same time an exceptional opportunity for promotion and recognition of mountaineering in the broadest sense. Who can better represent PZS than, for example, the Štremfelj couple, Janja Garnbret or Manca Smrekar. I have not forgotten all the others, thank you, respected this year's awardees and all those who have already been or whose time for the best achievements is still ahead."

The most successful in sport climbing in 2025
The most successful female sport climber is Janja Garnbret (Šaleški AO) for the ninth time in a row, who won all three competitions she participated in during the post-Olympic season, including in front of home fans in Koper. With two world champion titles in Seoul, she increased her total collection of world champion titles to ten and became the Slovenian sportswoman of the year for the sixth time. The most successful male sport climber is Luka Potočar (ŠPO PD Radovljica) for the fifth time, a difficulty specialist who reached the World Cup final twice and concluded the world championship in Seoul in eleventh place.
>>> Evaluation of the 2025 competitive season of Slovenian sport climbers



Awards for outstanding achievements in competitions were received by the 2025 world vice-champion in difficulty and four-time World Cup finalist Rosa Rekar (PK FA), finalist of the world championship in boulder climbing and World Cup in Prague Jennifer Buckley (PK Scena), finalist of the world championship in difficulty and World Cup in Innsbruck and Koper Lučka Rakovec (ŠPO PD Radovljica), two-time boulder World Cup finalist Anže Peharc (AO PD Kranj), Mia Krampl (AO PD Kranj) with a final in difficulty in Bali and Lucija Tarkuš (AK Impol Slovenska Bistrica), who celebrated the final at the home competition in Koper.



Among para-climbers, the award for outstanding achievements in competitions was received by world vice-champion Manca Smrekar (AO PD TAM Maribor) and Tanja Glušič (PD Prevalje/IŠD Samorastnik) and Matej Arh (AO PD Kranj), who stepped on the third step at the world para-climbing championship in Seoul (Tanja with guide Mitja Proje), each in their own category. Together, they brought four silver and one bronze medal from World Cup competitions. The promising award in the 2025 season went to the world vice-champion in difficulty among cadets Lana Gorič (PK FA), who earned the overall victory in the European youth cup with two second places.



The Sport Climbing Commission also awarded recognitions for outstanding rock achievements, received by Janja Garnbret for outstanding ascents in natural crags, among which stand out the boulder Dreamtime (8C), flash routes Puro Dreaming (8c+/9a) and onsight climbed routes Osapska pošast (8c) and Working Class Hero (8c), Domen Škofic (ŠPO PD Radovljica) for one of the hardest routes in the world Move with grade 9b/+, Jernej Kruder (ŠPO PD Celje Matica) for "trad" route Crown Royale with grade 9a, Big Fish (8c+/9a) and boulder Mother Night (8B) and Lucija Tarkuš for the route Martin Krpan with grade 9a in Mišja peč.

The most successful in alpinism in 2025
The most successful female alpinist is Ana Baumgartner (AO PD Ljubljana Matica) for the first time, whose last year stands out with the ascent in Les Droites via the Lagarde couloir, successful expedition to Kyrgyzstan and repetitions of Slovenian rock classics such as Čop's pillar and Aschenbrenner's route, which proves her versatility, courage, will and resourcefulness. The most successful male alpinist is Nejc Marčič (AO PD Radovljica) again after 13 years, already a recipient of the Piolet d'Or in 2012. In his last season, the visit to Patagonia stands out with the ascent of Fitz Roy via the French-Argentine route and Aguja Standhardt via the famous ice classic Exocet, while in the home mountains he completed several difficult winter ascents in good style, e.g. Raz Jalovca. He is currently working in Antarctica.
>>> Year 2025 in Slovenian alpinism - without resounding peaks, but full of raw power



The most promising alpinist of 2025 is the versatile Matic Primožič (AO PD Tržič), who collected an enviable number of quality ascents in the Alps, from mixed routes above Chamonix, harder rock ascents in the Dolomites and Slovenian classics and good ascents in granite cracks, and added a good attempt at an ascent on an expedition in the Himalayas. The recognition for special achievements in alpinism was received by world-class rock climber Jernej Kruder, whose 2025 stood out with repetitions in trad routes (with traditional protection), and Filip Princi, who last year climbed numerous difficult dry-tooling routes, including the hardest Slovenian route with grade D16, and several mixed routes, including the legendary Jedi Master in the Cogne valley.



This year's recipient of the Alpine Association of Slovenia's lifetime achievement award in alpinism Bojan Pollak - Bojč (AO PD Kamnik) is among the most prominent and influential personalities of Slovenian alpinism and the mountaineering community and is also an honorary member of PZS. His decades-long work is marked by professionalism, consistency and a deep sense of responsibility. He started alpinism in 1966 and soon became an alpinist, mountain rescuer, mountain guide and alpinist instructor. He completed more than 2500 alpinist tours and climbed about 130 first ascents. He climbed at home and in numerous mountain ranges in Europe and Asia. He was a member of three Yugoslav Himalayan expeditions - to Kangbachen (1974), Makalu (1975) and Everest (1979); this expedition was marked by his exceptionally courageous rescue in a tragic accident. An important part of his life's work is mentorship. As head of alpinist schools, mentor to trainees and alpinists and collaborator in guide training, he set high professional and ethical standards. Valuable is also his international pedagogical work in Nepal, where he participated eight times in mountain guide training. His legacy is complemented by rich publishing activity and numerous highest awards in the field of sports, mountaineering and protection.
>>> Bojan Pollak - Bojč, recipient of PZS lifetime achievement award in alpinism 2026

The most successful in competitive ski mountaineering in 2025
The most successful female competitive ski mountaineer became the junior world champion in vertical Klara Velepec (TSK LiMa), who also excelled with fifth place in the Olympic sprint discipline and several excellent performances in the junior World Cup. For the greatest success of Slovenian competitive ski mountaineering overall - fifth place among seniors - the world champion in vertical among U23 Klemen Španring (TSK LiMa) took care, the second most successful male competitive ski mountaineer.
>>> Evaluation of the 2025 season in competitive ski mountaineering



The most successful in competitive ice climbing in 2025
The most successful female competitive ice climber in recent years is Maja Šuštar Habjan (AO PD Domžale), seventh at the European Championship and twice eleventh at a World Cup competition, which she concluded in overall 12th place. The most successful male competitive ice climber is once again Gregor Šegel (AO PD Ljubljana Matica), third at the Continental Cup competition in Slovakia, eighth at the European Championship and twice World Cup semifinalist.
>>> Competitive ice climbing - review of 2025

The award recipients said ...


BOJAN POLLAK - BOJČ, recipient of the lifetime achievement award in alpinism: "From a young age, I was connected to nature within the family, but alpinism completely captivated me during my student years. And that alpinism, which - as I wrote more than 40 years ago - gives and takes. It gives the power of survival, optimism, confidence in oneself, as well as in comrades, energy and more and more. Also for overcoming various life trials. But it also takes. Not only friends who are no longer here, but also time for family, time for those you love, but who cannot enjoy everything with you that you can yourself. Just like the title of honorary member of PZS, I accept this recognition as recognition for joint work. As someone wrote that man is not an island in the middle of an endless sea, but is also part of the continent, so I myself could not do almost anything for others, for the community. Therefore, this recognition is also recognition to all those with whom I have worked together in alpinism in the broadest sense of the word. I am grateful to the alpinist community for recognizing that in the past decades we have done a lot also at the basic levels of alpinism, which according to my knowledge and understanding of development has decisively contributed to the fact that generations of Slovenian alpinists, including the current one, belong to the world alpinist top and also that the Slovenian way of training in alpinism is among the best in the world."



ANA BAUMGARTNER, most successful female alpinist 2025: "I am honored and very surprised that the Alpinism Commission recognized me as the most successful. Last year I had a lot of time and therefore really climbed a lot of diverse things - winter, rock, sport and trad climbing in crags. I think I progressed in all genres, which I count as my greatest success. Sharing experiences is key in raising new generations, I try to do that in women's and mixed teams. The dynamics do not depend so much on the gender of the climbing partner as on how we match personally and in climbing terms."

NEJC MARČIČ, most successful male alpinist 2025 (absent from the award ceremony): "Last year I was in Argentina all January, this year I am working in Antarctica; last year I climbed for myself, this year I help others to climb. Luka Stražar and I already shared the award in 2012 and over the years we share many things – from ropes, tents and sleeping bags to numerous awards. This year is the first time I receive the award alone. For me, the greatest recognition is that I can still enjoy activities in the mountains. This year marks 20 years since my enrollment in alpinist school, which was brought to me by ski mountaineering or alpinist skiing, which today represents a large part of my alpinism. In a way, I will celebrate this anniversary this year with a ski expedition. I would like to thank the jury for the recognition, but the greatest thanks go of course to my family, who has patience and supports me in my activities."

JANJA GARNBRET, most successful female sport climber 2025 (absent from the award ceremony): "The year 2025 was a bit different for me, but at the same time extremely interesting. A lot of things happened, I carried out many projects, especially on rock, at the same time the competitive season was very very successful for me. This was a season that shapes you not only as an athlete, but also as a person, so I look forward to 2026. I have many projects, especially on rock, that I want to tick off, soon it will also be known which competitions I will compete in this year. There is a lot of motivation, the energy is right and I really look forward to everything that is coming. I hope we see each other again soon somewhere on rock or at competitions, definitely we see each other at the World Cup in Koper. Thanks for the award and good luck, see you."



LUKA POTOČAR, most successful male sport climber 2025: "If I draw a line under last season, the form was good, only the 'performance' at competitions was unfortunately not the best. Because of that, the plan for this year has not changed drastically. I am happy for Lučka's season, which was good given the expectations and situation, both of us wish for even better results in the upcoming one and that can motivate us together also in training as a team."



ROSA REKAR, recipient of the award for outstanding achievements in sport climbing: "In senior competition, I mainly matured mentally. I learned to better manage pressure, trust myself and my process and remain patient even when things did not go according to plan. Last year's successes are mainly motivation for me. Of course, they bring more expectations, but I see them as encouragement, not as pressure."



DOMEN ŠKOFIC, recipient of the award for outstanding rock achievements: "I am proud of my competitive career and happy with everything it taught me, but the love for climbing was born on rock. To be honest, I have always wanted only to be able to climb demanding routes in natural walls. Certainly motivation and pressure outside are completely different, in my opinion much healthier for maintaining joy in climbing, which has become my main goal. It is easier to take time for family, since I do not have to be constantly in top form. I create my own pace and let myself be completely taken over by the route that inspires me. Now I have more time to do something crazy. New ideas will remain secret for now."



KLARA VELEPEC, most successful female competitive ski mountaineer 2025: "I was already involved in mountain running before, which gave me an excellent foundation, especially endurance, but for the breakthrough it was decisive that I really found myself in ski mountaineering and fell in love with it. The sport immediately attracted me with its demandingness and numerous challenges, which further motivated me in training and competitions. Klemen also had a very important role, as we met through ski mountaineering and spent a huge amount of training together. His experiences and knowledge enabled me fast progress, as I got answers to questions first-hand and valuable insight into the top level of this sport. Last year, the matura was also a big challenge for me - not so much because of the material, but because of coordinating time and maintaining focus during the competitive season. I knew I had to do the matura, but at the same time I wanted to stay focused on the sport. At home I had a lot of support, but my wonderful sports coordinator played a key role, as every athlete should have one."

KLEMEN ŠPANRING, most successful male competitive ski mountaineer 2025: "Last season was a really special step forward for me. Several factors came together: I was a year older, with more experience and already with a good training base behind me. At the same time, I finished my studies, which allowed me to dedicate myself to the sport much more professionally, with more time and focus. All this was reflected in the results. I see last season as a starting point – my goal is to constantly place in the upcoming seasons where I managed to reach at the championship and to further upgrade the results. The Olympic future of ski mountaineering certainly motivates me, as it brings greater recognition and development of the sport. I hope, however, that they will add the individual discipline to the Olympic program, as it is the most authentic and basically the only true ski mountaineering discipline. This aspect of the sport motivates me the most and drives me forward with the thought of the next Olympic Games in four years in France."

MAJA ŠUŠTAR HABJAN, most successful female competitive ice climber 2025: "The drive gives me joy in competitions - that feeling that you have only one chance to show the most you can in a given moment is something that calls me back all these years. Yes, it has been 30 years since my best competitive results in sport climbing, a period that exceeds the age of most competitors in sport climbing. Due to a combination of circumstances and life paths, I did not manage to fully live out this competitive passion in sport climbing, so I return to the competitive arena of ice climbing, because it is a discipline that allows achieving top results even in somewhat older years, as experience and endurance are key to success, qualities that can be sufficiently maintained or even upgraded with years. At the last World Cup competition, for example, the Korean Woonseon Shin won, with whom I share the year of birth."



GREGOR ŠEGEL, most successful male competitive ice climber 2025: "In Slovenia there is not much competition, so it is not hard to be among the best. At the world level, the competition is large, so my first breakthrough succeeded only after several years of competitions. Sometimes I regret that because of training I spend less time in nature, but in the end you have to decide for something and carry it out, while thinking as positively as possible. I am lucky that despite the small number of ice climbers in Slovenia, I encountered a lot of support from a small circle of people who take this sport very seriously and are willing to pass on their knowledge to younger generations. From the very beginning, the Alpine Association of Slovenia and the Mountaineering Club Ljubljana-Matica have also been a great support to me."