Avgustovsko rojstvo pred 13 leti

Some stories are simply given to you so you can take a deeper look into them; and to look further into them.

These kinds of stories, for me, go back to the years 2003 and 2004, and are deeply buried into my heart and till this day, when I start to talk about Alaska my heart skips a beat each and every time.

In 2 consecutive summers, in 5 months, I experienced stories I will never forget. Stories, meetings and experiences. Meeting new people and diving into the sheer endless-seeming nature of Alaska is one of them. Yes, the circumstances may seem a bit harder to overcome than at home. But never-ending horizons, forests which seem unreachable at first glance, mountains with heights you would never dare to climb at first, and people who are truly friendly and have certain warmth in their hearts however…

These kinds of memories stayed with me. And when I start to think about them, I really wish to return to that place. To see all this again, to meet and hug these people once more, people who wrote me this unforgettable story in my life and left such a strong impression.

All this could easily be written into a book; maybe even more than one. But on 23rd August exactly, I always reply my phone call to Alaska, each year again and again.

It all started when I wanted to make some photos of mountain goats in the last days of my stay there in the capital of Juneau. The goats were sadly to there anymore, but when I was going back along the riverside, I quickly came across a huge 30m deep waterfall. I could not jump across it, but I believed that I could go through the dense bushes and find my way to the valley there. And all of a sudden the ground collapsed; deep into the earth. I could have easily fallen some 300m down below. But luckily I grabbed onto a bush and hanged on the remaining roots for another 17 hours. It sounds like a sci-fi movie, I know. But it was not. The night was excruciatingly long and soon I knew that there was no chance for somebody to find me, not till morning, and there was no hope. But I could not save myself either. Whatever I wanted to grab to pull myself up fell to the ground. I trusted that the roots, which I clanged onto desperately, would at least hold me and my petrography equipment for the time being, which dangled around my like bats on cave ceilings.  

And in that moment you start to listen. You listen to every small sound around you. You listen to the water flowing and reminding you how precious a drop of water truly is. You also get to know how precious light is, light of the aurora borealis, which was glowing above me and which people worshiped for centuries before me. Some people saw in this light the cries of in ice trapped swans, some saw gods working in their mysterious ways… For me it was a special kind of blessing. And the realization that some stories and photos are only just for me to keep; to kept deep in my heart and ready to be seen when I felt like it.

I came close to my own mortality at that day, in the young years of 23, and they left a deep impression within me. Maybe also because I love to search for beauty in wild parts of our part of Slovenia, Kočevje, and where I love to howl with the wolves and try to get a message across about nature. Simply because I am dependent on it; dependent on clean water, fresh air, a healthy soil.

This 23rd August is already 13 years past, but I still ring up the phone on this day and call Hans, Bruce, Steve and John; the crew which I have to thank for my rescue and why I can write this today. There is no signal in the deep gorges; the helicopter doesn’t see you carrying green-gray clothes, in which you look like the nearest bush close to you. Luckily, my own voice and the strong will to live saved my life in that situation in the end. If something else was behind my rescue, you can decide for yourself.

I just know that life is a very special gift. It is a blessing and we have to love each other for it. We have to do things that we truly indulge ourselves in; and spend each and every day with the ones we love.