"It all began thanks to the power of the heart and mind" - L. STRAZAR
BIOGRAPHY
Luka Stražar was always amazed when he saw his father leaving or returning from the mountains with his strange and colorful gear. Ropes, harnesses, friends, and nuts. Tools that the young Slovenian has familiarized himself with and learned to use in the most beautiful and most challenging mountains in the world. On virgin walls and unclimbed peaks. Yet, as a child he would never have imagined that the mountains would become an integral part of his life, that he would become a professional mountain guide, and that his mountaineering skills would take him to the elite level, among the best of our time.
Luka Stražar has taken part in more than ten mountaineering expeditions in recent years and made countless ascents. He has also received many awards for his mountaineering achievements. Nominated several times as the best Slovenian mountaineer of the year, he has also earned two Piolet d’Or awards, the highest honor in the mountaineering field. The first in 2012, together with Nejc Marcic, for establishing a new route along the untouched west face of K7 (6,800 m, Charakusa Valley, Pakistan); the second in 2019, together with Aleš Česen and Tom Livingstone, for the first ascent of the north face of Latok I.
Always smiling, even in the most difficult moments, Luka Stražar continues to try to improve his technical skills so he can tackle even more demanding challenges, with the modern mountaineering problems involving the numerous and untouched mountains of six and seven thousand meters in the Himalayas and Karakorum.
A BRIEF CHAT WITH LUKA STRAZAR
Luka, of all the mountains you’ve climbed, do you have a favorite?
It’s hard to identify just one, but I can say that the Julian Alps are one of my favorite playgrounds. They are the mountains where I matured as a mountaineer, and they remind me of my youth. In the Himalayas and Karakorum I’ve achieved some of my most important accomplishments, and the Dolomites have become a special place for me in recent years. I don’t have a favorite mountain; every one is capable of offering unique and unrepeatable experiences.
You’re a mountain guide and a professional mountaineer. Is there a dividing line between the two activities?
I think so, but I try my best to make this divide disappear. In my role as a professional guide, I’ve acquired a variety of essential skills that enable me to progress as a mountaineer. And then, when you accompany people on hard and technical routes, you definitely keep yourself in shape.
You’ve won two Piolet d’Or awards and established many extreme routes. Do you have a dream that you consider impossible?
Many of my dreams have come true over the years, which is why I consider myself a very lucky person. Today I still continue to imagine and dream, knowing that some of these ideas are beyond my limits. So the answer is yes. But if you’re creative and ready to change and evolve, I think there are so many opportunities to seize that the word “impossible” becomes irrelevant.
Do you think that the mountains and mountaineering can help us become the best version of ourselves?
I strongly believe that. And it would be wonderful to always carry this question with me, every day.
What is the one Karpos product that you always have with you, on every outing?
The very light Lot Rain Jacket — even though the new Karpos socks are moving up the ranking."
HIGHLIGHTS
2011 New route on west face of K7 (6,800 m, Pakistan)
2012 New route on west face of Janak (7,050 m, Nepal)
2015 New Alpine-style route on Cukyma Go (6,200 m, Nepal)
2018 First ascent on north face of Latok I (7,145 m, Pakistan)
2019 New Alpine-style route on west face of Hagshu (6,657 m, India)