With 200 kilometers of marked tracks and 48 peaks that are 2,000 meters above sea level, Durmitor has always been the target of many tourists. It will never be ascertained how many people walked along the paths towards the tops of the mountain that geographically belongs to the Dinaric system, and for which many say that part of the Alps has been transferred to Montenegro. According to historical data, the first recorded climb to the highest peak - Bobotov kuk, occurred in the 19th century. Various documents state that this was done by the Austrian cartographer Oskar Bauman 1883. His compatriot Kurt Hasert performed the first of three climbs on Bobotov kuk in 1891. He also published the first photos of Durmitor. It was noted that in 1926 Durmitor was visited by the first organized group of mountaineers from Zagreb.
Five years later, two Austrians performed their first winter ascent to Bezimeni peak.
It is not known how many people have since climbed to the highest peak of Durmitor, two and a half kilometers above sea level, although, for decades, there has been a notebook on Bobotov kuk in which each of the mountaineers could enroll.
"For a period, books containing the data of those who have conquered Bobotov kuk have been preserved. For other periods there are not any, and they do not know where they are, and in the recent period they are being kept," said Zoran Vojinovic, president of the Mountaineering Club "Durmitor", a prominent mountaineer and mountain rescuer.
Lack of records also denies the names of the recorders by the number of climbs on Bobotov kuk, but also on the other peaks.
Impassioned Durmitor lover, Petar Panic from Novi Sad, did not abandon his memories of coming to Zabljak. All this is properly recorded in a diary to avoid any imprecision through verbal conversations. He recorded that in the summer of 2005, he visited all the peaks of Durmitor over 2,000 meters in 17 days.
The unlimited number of expeditions are, however, mostly carried by people in their private tours. There used to be a service in which the conquerors of some peaks were recorded and in their mountaineering booklets was put a stamp of the peak they conquested. The reality is that the truth is left to the individuals how many people have come to the peaks of Durmitor, at what time of the year and in what weather. It is reliable that there were of all ages. It is known that 15 years ago, with her father's help, a two-year-old girl came out to Bobotov kuk and Dragisa Kecojević from Belgrade came to the highest point of Durmitor ten years ago. Most likely it is the youngest and oldest hiker who won Bobotov kuk. Any story about Durmitor cannot go without mentioning General Danilo Jaukovic who died on July 9, 1977, beneath Bobotov kuk. In honor of him, every year, a memorial hiking campaign is organized at the highest Durmitor peak.
It is not widely known that as early as 1934, a feature film "Knight of Durmitor" was shot for the first time, a Yugoslav-German co-production with Ita Rina as the main actress.
Two decades later, at Durmitor, the first hiking series was held in which 2,500 hikers participated.
Last summer, on Velika previja, at the highest Durmitor's peak, for the 130th anniversary of the expedition, the teacher Jovan Lausevic was the first domestic author to write about the Montenegrin mountains, which is considered the beginning of modern mountaineering, the mountaineers discovered a memorial plaque.
The president of the Mountaineering Association, Dragan Bulatovic, reminded that Lausevic published a travelogue report on Durmitor and other Montenegrin mountains in five sequels of "Voice of a Montenegrin", which makes him the precursor of contemporary mountain climbing.
On the development of mountaineering in Montenegro, the former president of the Mountaineering Association Mijo Kovacevic spoke on that occasion and emphasized that the beginners of modern mountaineering are Stojan Cerovic, Branislav Cerovic and academician Branimir Gusic.
"Mountaineers' homes in Durmitor were built following the idea of Stojan Cerovic. In 1935, Branislav started the first markings of the paths and placed the first boxes and stamps on the Durmitor peaks, and in 1938 with the academician, Gusic issued the first brochure on Durmitor - Durmitorski vođ’. Behind Branislav Cerovic is the capital work "Guide through Durmitor", which has been written in three editions in Serbo-Croatian, English and German. He also made a few mountain shelters and a detailed hiking map, which is still an example of quality educational material," said Kovacevic and recalled the documentary by Branislav Gusic from 1930, which was shown on that occasion.
Text by Obrad Pjesivac, on July 28th, 2019, read more at Vijesti
