Marko Prezelj (born 13 October 1965) is a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n mountaineer and photographer. Prezelj received four

Piolet d'Or An ice axe is a multi-purpose hiking and climbing tool used by mountaineers in both the ascent and descent of routes that involve snow, ice, or frozen conditions. Its use depends on the terrain: in its simplest role it is used like a walking ...

awards. He won the inaugural "Oscar of mountaineering" in 1992 with

Andrej Štremfelj Andrej Štremfelj (born 17 December 1956) is a Slovenian mountain climber, and in 2019, became the 10th recipient of the Piolet d'Or ''Lifetime Achievement Award''. Life and work Štremfelj was born in Kranj and got involved in mountain ...

for their new route on the south ridge of Kangchenjunga South (8476) in

alpine style Alpine style is mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, thereby carrying all of one's food, shelter and equipment as one climbs, as opposed to expedition style (or siege style) mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocked ...

. The second he received in 2007 with Boris Lorenčič, for the first ascent of

Chomolhari Jomolhari or Chomolhari (; ) sometimes known as "the bride of Kangchenjunga”, is a mountain in the Himalayas, straddling the border between Yadong County of Tibet, China and the Paro district of Bhutan. The north face rises over above the ba ...

's northwest pillar in October 2006. Prezelj rejected his second award because of his concern about the dangers of a competition. In 2014 he received his third

together with Aleš Česen and

Luka Lindič Luka may refer to: People * Luka (given name), a South Slavic masculine given name cognate of Luke, and a Japanese given name * Luka (singer), stage name of Brazilian singer and songwriter Luciana Karina Santos de Lima (born 1979) * Luka Keʻelik ...

for their first ascent of the north face of Hagshu in the Indian Himalaya. In 2016 he won his fourth Piolet d'Or. Prezelj has a degree in

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

and is an IFMGA/UIAGM mountain guide and climbing instructor. He is married and has two sons.

Ascents (selection)

* 1987

Lhotse Shar Lhotse Shar is a subsidiary mountain of Lhotse, at high. It was first climbed by Sepp Mayerl and Rolf Walter on 12 May 1970. Climbing routes and dangers Lhotse Shar is located far from the main summit's standard route of ascent via the South Co ...

Expedition (reached 7300 m) * 1988 New route on the north face of Cho Oyu * 1989

Shisha Pangma Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...

south face attempt; solo ascent of the Kang Ri (6240 m) * 1991 Kangchenjunga (8476 m) south ridge new route, first ascent of Boktoh (6142 m), second ascent of Talung (7349 m) * 1992 First ascent of Melungtse (7181 m) * 1993 El Capitan, fifth ascent of Wyoming Sheep Ranch * 1995 Torre Norte del Paine in Chile. * 1998 New route on Porong Ri East Summit (7284 m) and Yebokangal Ri (7332 m) * 1999 First ascent of the north wall of the

Gyachung Kang Gyachung Kang ( ne, ग्याचुङ्काङ, ''Gyāchung Kāng''; ) is a mountain in the Mahalangur Himal section of the Himalayas, and is the highest peak between Cho Oyu (8,201 m) and Mount Everest (8,848 m). It lies on the border bet ...

(7952 m) * 2000 Second ascent of the "Golden Pillar" of

Spantik Spantik (Balti Language) or Golden Peak is a mountain in Spantik-Sosbun Mountains subrange of Karakoram in Hispar Valley of Shigar District, Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. Its northwest face features an exceptionally hard climbing route ...

* 2001 Begguya and

Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the th ...

(6193 m)in Alaska - "Light Traveller" on the south face, new route, free climbed in a single push style, and Nilkanth west ridge (6596 m) * 2002

Nuptse Nuptse or Nubtse ( Sherpa: नुबचे, Wylie: Nub rtse, ) is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Mahalangur Himal, in the Nepalese Himalayas. It lies two kilometres WSW of Mount Everest. Nubtse is Tibetan for "west peak", as it is the ...

south face attempt * 2004 North Twin North Face ascent with Steve House and Kapura Peak (6544m), new route and first ascent * 2005 Kayish new route * 2006 "The Long Run" on Cerro Torre and "Extreme Emotions" on Cerro Standhardt, free on sight ascent of "Cobra Oillar" on Mt. Barille (Alaska) andChomolhari (7326 m) northwest pillar * 2007 First ascent of K7 West in Karakoram * 2008 New route on W face of Kangchungtse (7678 m) * 2009 Baghirathi IV, III and II new routes * 2010 Bisotun Wall, Iran, new route * 2011 Makalu W face attempt (reached 7000 m) and integral ridge traverse of Chago peaks

References

External links

Website of Marko Prezelj

Piolet d'Or winner question awards
biography and more information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prezelj, Marko 1965 births Living people Slovenian mountain climbers Yugoslav mountain climbers Piolet d'Or winners