Slovak porters - The last in Europe | DW Documentary

The High Tatras of Slovakia, the worldís smallest high mountain range. Stefan Backor is one of Europeís last mountain porters, delivering supplies to the mountain huts. Itís good for the ego, I recommend it to anyone who feels like Superman. People should come to the mountains and try it out. Theyíll soon know how their muscles, head and heart are doing. The porters, who also refer to themselves as ëTatra sherpasí carry up to 100 kilos on their backs, at great risk. This whole ridge above us bro

ke off. The avalanche plunged all the way into the valley, taking Juray with it. Fresh from the bakery, Stefan Backor is carrying a very delicate load today. These are legendary, home-made ëbuchtyí a kind of yeast dumpling. This is the storeroom for the ëHut of Thievesí. Each hut has its own storage, where the goods are packed. Weíre taking some vegetables up today, some vitamins, some greens. And the sweet dumplings. Mmm, they smell so good. I put Styrofoam blocks at the bottom to get the right

center of gravity. You can use anything light, but also stable. Itís a windy day today, so I wonít stack the boxes as high as usual. The wind in the mountains is unpredictable, it can be a problem. The heaviest weight should be here, around head height. Here you can see the position we have to carry it, tilted forward a little, not too much but also not too upright. This position gives you the best control. A strong gust of wind could knock Stefan and his high load off his feet anytime. He buil

t his wooden carrying frame himself. The construction is very old and traditional, he uses old fire-brigade hoses as straps. Good, it looks good. Weíll have to see what the wind is like. Your legs will tell you whether today will be a good or a difficult walk. Stefan has a four hour climb ahead, and 1,000 meters of height. This is my normal pace. First of all, I check that everything is working as it should. The machine has to warm up slowly. Itís nice when you realize itís going well, that youí

ve loaded up right. Out here you feel how small you are and what really matters. When you come back down, youíre a better person. Itís alright so far. The wind isnít too bad. Itís ok to walk, further on thereís a spot where you have to be careful. We dance with the wind there. If you make the right steps, itís almost like dancing. But the heavy wind and the weight of the frame force Stefan to take frequent breaks. How much are you carrying? Not much today, I have around 60 kilos. Was it hard? It

was okay. I didnít want to push it because of the weather. I had to struggle with the wind further down. Is there anything to take down from the hut? Yes, there are a few things still there. OK, bye then... The last few meters to the ëHut of Thievesí. Stefan knows every single step. Itís windy here, but weíve made it. Weíre good now. The best stop is the one at the hut. In 20 years, Stefan has carried tons of loads up the mountains, come rain or shine. Ok, good, weíre at the hut, Iím happy. How

was it? Pretty good, I was a bit worried about the wind, but it was OK. 52 Kilos! 52 Kilos!? Good! Shall I help you? One euro per kilo is standard. 52 kilos of buchty on the way up and 40 kilos of bedding going down makes it around 90 euros pay. Now Iíve unpacked it all, Iím looking forward to a soup and a beer. Hut keeper Miky Knizka gets fresh goods delivered almost every day. He has 10 porters working for him altogether. The porters bring up 70% of the goods. The helicopter only brings thing

s like beer, heating pellets and the large gas bottles. Thereís no permit for a cable car, and wonít be in the immediate future. Itís a high priority conservation area, and thatís a good thing. The porters bring us everything we need. The wind has picked up and is blowing from the back against the high carrying frame. Keeping his balance on the rocky terrain is a challenge. We shouldnít be here in this time, OK? Falls are not unusual for Stefan luckily this one didnít end badly. But he still has

most of the journey ahead of him. His descent will take two hours. Everything is OK apart from the wind and the fall. It shouldnít have happened, with my experience, but it happened. No problem, Iím alright, thatís the main thing. So, that was it. Letís get out of here fast, weíll get in the car, drive down and enjoy a good dinner. Iím looking forward to seeing my family, my boys and Martina. Days off are a rarity for Stefan in the peak season. But come November, when tourist numbers fall, he f

inally has time for the most important thing in his life. Today Iím out with my family, Martina, Miöo and Kubo. Weíre doing a day trip together. Itís great to be out in nature together. Iím often outdoors, but of course I want to show the boys the High Tatras and the surrounding area. We donít have that many opportunities to spend time together outdoors. Look, thereís the hut. Do you remember the first time we came here? Iím looking forward to the soup. You can drink tea and Daddy can have a bee

r. Stefan knows the way to the Plesnivec hut as a guest, not as a porter. One of the few roads in the region leads to it, so the young manager Jano Matava can transport his supplies with an off-road vehicle. Hi, long time no see. Whatís new? Not much, but I can see youíve been busy. Will you be done by winter? I didnít know you were re-doing the road? Weíre doing that for safety reasons. The road was collapsing, so weíre renewing it. The Tatra National Park has been under strict protection since

it was founded in 1949. Building a cable car or more roads to deliver goods is forbidden. Personally I donít think it would be right to build roads here, I donít agree with it, but this road was already here. If a road already exists, fine. But I donít want cable cars to be built in the High Tatras. And for now, thatís how things will stay. The Tatra porters and their families are upholding their centuries-old tradition. Iím afraid for you, especially when itís cold and youíre working at night.

Iíve always known that youíre a mountain porter so itís normal for me. Family is important and the older I get, the more I look forward to coming home to the boys and Martina. But with family comes responsibility. The time will come when I have to give this up. I donít know when, I canít plan it, I donít know. Now everything is working fine, Iím okay. Stefan and Martina met in a mountain hut in the national park 15 years ago. She was working in the kitchen, he as a porter. Weíve been together f

or many years, with time you get used to each other, but sometimes itís not so nice. He knows I donít like it when heís working as a porter in winter, the weather is often bad. The rangers are responsible for protecting the national parkís animals. Pol and Stefan were ranger colleagues for a long time. They still work together today, counting the goat-like Tatra chamois. We do the count once in spring and once in autumn. My colleagues have to go all over the national park to do it. Everybody put

s their data in an app, where itís all collected and evaluated. To find the Tatra chamois, Stefan and Pol have to climb to the highest parts of the mountain. They soon make an interesting discovery. Oh, look at this. It looks fresh. That is wolf faeces, maybe one or two days old. There are lots of them in the national park. There are lynxes and brown bears here too. All of the Carpathian predators live here in the High Tatras too. Hereís the evidence. The trails in the national park are closed t

o tourists from the start of November until mid-June, which has allowed a particularly diverse range of fauna to develop in the High Tatras. Weíre looking for Tatra chamois, this is the slope. There, in the grass, where the snow was swept away. Just below the sun, in the shade. There, where the patch of snow is. Yes, now itís looking to the left. Ok letís continue. The chamois they are counting are the symbol of the Tatra National Park they are a highly protected species. This kind of chamois do

esnít exist anywhere else in the world. The population of Tatra chamois increased gradually from the critical level of 250 to 400 animals in the whole of the High Tatras. In the last 10 years, the number has risen to over 1,000. This figure is stable today. Sometimes there are fewer, sometimes more, but 1,000 is a very good figure for the population. Stefan has many memories of this area. Itís where he started out as a mountain porter, and where he lost a good friend. Today is a beautiful day an

d weíre at a sad place for me and my comrades, called the "Rocky Hang". There was an avalanche here in 2000, that killed our good friend and porter Juray Petransky. A very good man who loved the mountains. Sudden avalanches are the greatest danger for the porters. This whole ridge above us broke off. The avalanche plunged all the way into the valley, taking Juray with it. The construction of avalanche nets is also prohibited in the strictly protected national park. Nothing should spoil the prist

ine nature of this unique area. The protection of the national park here is very important because the area is small, itís one of the smallest national parks in the world. And thatís why nature conservation should have absolute priority over mass tourism and any interference with nature. Over four million tourists from all over the world visit the Tatra National Park every year. Thereís a lot of pressure to change things. But all the more reason to set rules about whatís allowed in winter and wh

atís allowed in summer. There has to be a balance and itís very fragile. I hope it stays this way for a long time. That we can still experience many beautiful moments and meet here, for whatever reason. That it just stays like this, so beautiful. Preparations are underway for the highlight of the year the so-called ëSherpa Rallyí. Almost all the High Tatra porters take part. I'm taking part in the 100-kilo run for the first time and I'll be carrying 50 kilos in the "mixed double". My partner wil

l carry the other 50 kilos. Please come and weigh in if you havenít done so yet. Today, the porters have to carry 100 kilos for almost 3 kilometers alone or in teams of two. A great test of strength. Iím 22 and itís my first time here. This is my first time and Iím carrying 30 kilos. Why am I doing this? Because I want to test my limits. I want to know if I can do it, that's what it's about. The weather is perfect... No, itís terrible. That's our character. We who love the mountains say: only ev

il is bad, not the weather. Stefan Backor will of course also be taking part in the ëSherpa Rallyí. But he still has time for a coffee before the start. Weíre in the ëSwiss Houseí, one of the most beautiful old buildings in the High Tatras. Itís the portersí sanctuary. A beautiful building with its own soul and energy. Weíve built the Sherpa CafÈ and Sherpa Museum here. Stefan and his wife Martina have been running the Sherpa CafÈ and Sherpa Museum for nine years. Itís an important additional so

urce of income for the family of four. But that's not all. We said to ourselves, we can create something here. We have the opportunity to tell people about the history of the High Tatras and the mountain porters and how theyíre intertwined. The Tatra porters frequently capture on video how exhausting and dangerous their work can be. We currently have six huts in Slovakia that are totally dependent on us porters. That's me, I was about 30 then. Here I am with a very heavy load. Here you can see h

ow we do it on skis in winter. We porters are strong men, we can carry loads that tourists can't carry. Weíre out there in any weather. What the helicopter can't do and what the cable car can't do, the porters can do. In almost all conditions. Technically, this is the most demanding section, not only on the way to the Pod Rysmi hut, but in general. You have to be 100% sure what youíre doing here, thereís no room for error. If you fall here, as some colleagues have, it can be fatal. We have to be

careful because of the avalanches. And in summer because of the storms and thunderstorms. We have to avoid those dangers. Weíve had sad years. The Sherpa Museum has existed for nine years now. During this time, weíve lost five colleagues. Some died in an avalanche, others fell. I hope that good years will come and nothing bad will happen. Because weíre a small community, we really feel it when someone is missing. Stefan didnít only lose a good friend in Juray Petransky. Juray was also one of hi

s most experienced colleagues. Today is a big day of celebration. Itís the memorial run for Juray Petransky, in memory of our comrade who died in the avalanche. But also in memory of others who are no longer with us. It's like a little Christmas for us. It's not just a race, but a meeting of all the porters. Martina will support her husband Stefan at the race today. I hope it goes well. The 100-kilo run is hard and the weather is bad. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm just trying it out to see

if the load distribution is good and if everything works. Just a test. Heís fallen before during a 100-kilo run. It's not a pretty sight. Thank God it ended well. He picked himself up and carried on running. The best thing would be for everyone to reach the top safe and sound. This is my Mom. My sweet boy. We remember Juray and that he was always fair. We will hold a minute's silence at the top, also for the others who can no longer be with us: Be fair on the track. Let those who are faster pas

s you. Stefanís also ready to get going. He hasn't carried 100 kilos for a long time. She says that always when I have 100 kilograms, I look like Pinocchio. Good luck, Stefan Thank you, Iíll need it! Every step is important. Your whole universe is the two meters ahead of you. You don't need to give 100%, but 200%. It's hard... We're coming to the first shortcut, where it gets slippery and there are tree roots. The worst thing would be a fall. There are slippery spots on the course. I hope it goe

s well and everyone arrives safely. Nobody expects a record to be broken today in these conditions. My guardian angel! It's a good feeling up here with the guys, good air, good spirit and good energy. Juray's soul is here, and the soul of the others who are no longer with us. We miss the guys. But they are with us today. We are happy. My son is such a wonderful person. Sometimes it brings tears to my eyes that I have a son like him.