The Brave Ones

There was only dark blue stratosphere sky above her. The darkness of the space was very near. Below her, there were thousands of feet of rock, ice and perfectly clean air.

Standing on a small slab of snow, Marija Štremfelj embraced her husband as they celebrated summiting the top of the world, Mount Everest. It was October 7th, 1990.

Marija is still the only Slovene woman to reach the summit of all summits and has conquered the most eight-thousanders out of all women in Slovenia.

With Andrej, they are the first couple in the world to have reached the summit of Mt. Everest. Walking through the beautiful autumnal mountains of Slovenia three decades later, she reflects on the before and the after of this legendary achievement. 

She never feared challenges nor discomfort of top-level mountaineering as she had her fair share of discomforts before.

As a young girl, she delivered newspapers every morning before going to school – sleepy, pedalling the heavy bike day after day, in snow, rain, dark, cold and hot.

Marija had always felt mountains were her element. She craved climbing. When she didn’t do it for a while, she became a bitter shadow of herself. It was obvious that climbing completes her.

Together with Andrej, they have reached many summits, but the greatest ones, their three children, as they both say, came in the course of their feats. Marija managed it all – work, love, life, and climbing.

Now in her 60s, her walk is as fast as a young athlete’s, but nonetheless safe on the slippery rock. She stops numerous times, looking around in awe at the yellowing larch. 

Nature is her element. 

She has touched many rocks, stepped over many tree roots, seen fairy-tale landscapes all over the world.

But her wonder is still that of a child. “When summiting a high mountain, there isn’t much place for admiration. Then, all your thoughts are reduced to the next step,” she apologizes when stopping. 

Then, you can’t think of the problems at work, the near-bankruptcy awaiting you at home after the expedition, you can’t even think of the children you left at home.

“Leaving them was always the hardest. But sometimes you have to part so you can fully appreciate what you have. To us, family was and still is everything.”

In the local shop, Marija might be just another retiree, but among mountaineers, she is a celebrity.

She is proud, yes, but humble at the same time. “I take in every challenge with the same seriousness. However, you have to resist the fear and dismiss it. You have to just trust that your senses are guiding you in the right direction and that your decisions are right.” 

She has made many right decisions in her life, listening to her inner voice, like when she found water in the most unexpected spot, just when they were already dangerously dehydrated on the scary El Capitan climb.

And surely, she made some poor decisions, as we all do. But she regrets nothing. “Sometimes you have to step back a little, so you can cherish your next step even more.”

However passionately she loves mountains, her focus is mindfully on the here and now. If she feels like playing with her grandchildren, she will pass an invitation for a climb.

“It is free choice that makes the diversity of life so beautiful. You don’t have to be everywhere and do everything to live the life,” she says as the sun licks the tops of the mountains. 

Marija is an exceptional thinker, a great lady and climber. She is gentle and unspeakably tough. No wonder she was and still is widely accepted in the predominantly man’s world of top mountaineering.

She is accepted for what she is. However, acceptance of female mountaineers was not always a standard. Nonetheless, in the time of no voting rights for women, many brave ones took their life into their own hands. 

The sesame of female mountaineering was slowly opening, especially after the 1970s. It was time for a series of great climbers who left their trail not only in Yugoslavia and later Slovenia, but also the world. 

One of them was Lidija Honzak, who climbed many different routes, even Peak of Communism in Pamir with Marija. 

With them was also Marija Frantar – Mariča, one of the best Slovene climbers, who later tragically disappeared when climbing Khangchendzonga.

Just a few months later she onsighted Fish Eye at Oliana in Spain and by doing so also became the first woman in the world to onsight 8C.

All the women that ever climbed and mountaineered are remarkably resilient. Carrying unbelievably heavy backpacks, going through months of extremes at expeditions and seeing friends die is not for the faint-hearted.

Incredible ascents, nearly unclimbable slabs of rock, inhumane conditions – they surpassed it all . . . and themselves at times. 

“You have to be able to embrace hunger, dehydration, morbid tiredness, pain, fear, joy – all in one. And then you just have to move on,” Marija says as she freeclimbs a boulder at the end of the day.

Together with Andrej, they are now passing on their knowledge as they are professional mountain guides on routes all over the Alps. They are still a team, indeed. And it is pretty obvious Marija is having the time of her life. It is nearly impossible to catch her without a smile.

Female climbers are the embodiment of patience, diligence, and oftentimes team work. 

They are the queens of the rock, just like the bees are the queens of balance in nature. No wonder Slovenes appreciate them so much.