UKC

Feels odd posting in mountaineering section but as triglav is in the Alps I guess it's the right one. Anyway we are hiking Around Triglav and be staying in one of the nearby refugios, how easy/safe is it to get to the top without any gear except boots and poles?  Would be tempted to go to the top but we are not taking any helmets, rope, harness etc.

If you take the normal route it will be a easy hike to the top. Did it in shorts and hiking boots with my girlfriend.

It can be crowded and the only objective danger at the time was idiots kicking down small rocks on the scramble up. 

Enjoy your trip! I must add that unfortunately the huts around Triglav are a lot less glamorous than the ones in the swizz Alps especially in the food and toilet department.

Thanks, oh and thanks for the warning of the refugios our e experienced are in Spain and Italy 

Helmet is a very good idea, busy spot and of loads loose rock. 

If you don't want to carry kit from the UK, you can rent a helmet (& harness & via Ferrara kit) in Ljubljana for next to nothing from the local mountaineering club https://www.pd-ljmatica.si/Page/122/Rental-of-climbing-equipment

Be aware that it can and does snow on top at any time of year. A walker fell to their death the week we were in the area a couple of years ago.

We were in the area a month ago and were planning of heading up triglav but turned around after we found out that a load of the huts were closed and there was a good deal of snow on the route we wanted to do.

Best call ahead and book so you can also ask about conditions at the same time.

I'd second what someone above said about the loos, I can't remember the name of the place we stayed but the loos were horrific. The smell of ammonia was so bad I got the GF to stand in front of the door and kept the door open while I had a dump.

If you are a member, remember your BMC card as it gets you a good discount on hut fees.

No snow on Triglav on 13/8/19 but

​​​ https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Triglav/forecasts/2864

dusting up there today

loos - it's really busy and they don't seem to have much of a water supply, we only stopped for lunch but really nice people and very reasonable prices.

The one that we stopped at "Zasavska koča na Prehodavcih" only had a water supply from a spring 10 mins walk away.

The issue with the toilets was maintenance as much at anything I think, the base was open so that the draw from the chimney wasn't drawing air into the cabin and down the pan as it is supposed to.

If you got to places like New Zealand, where they've made a massive push to install toilets everywhere it seems, they are fine and the only smell if the vent is blocked or damaged.

The snow we met wasn't covering everything, we were just planning on a route going north from the hut and around the north of Kanjavec which was particularly snowy and the alternative would have taken us to a very busy hut because I think Koca na dolicu was colsed and also I'd had a fall and we were running out of days.

Thanks for all the info guys, looks like we will play it by ear and maybe err on the side of safety if needed. It is meant to be a family holiday as well, so the kids are supposed to have fun as well.

Oh, what is the water situation, many sources of water to refill? Or do you have to carry it all in?

1.5 ltr bottles at Kredarici, can't remember exact price but I thought fairly reasonable.

I did it from Trenta in a day via the Koca na Dolicu hut and (I think) the SW ridge route. Short and very straightforward via ferrata section. I didn't have a harness and never missed it, it was just a bit of pulling on rungs and cables and not even that exposed. Rockfall didn't seem to be an issue as the VF section was diagonal so anything dislodged from above fell away, not that I saw any rockfall anyway . Can't remember if I had a helmet or not, if I did it would've been my bike helmet as we were on a cycle tour.

Is it only Triglav that you have in mind  or are you open to suggestions? You see, Triglav (apart from being the highest mountain in Slovenia) is really nothing special. I'd go to Kriški podi instead; the hut is really nice and the place is surrounded with 6 2000m peaks, most (if not all) of them accessible without via-ferrata sets (helmet is always a good idea). You'll get to see Alpine (Capra) ibex, too.