Speaker
Description
Miki Knižka, mountian guide IFMGA / UIAGM
Founder of Mountain Pro Guiding. Adventurer, skier, alpinist… over 10 years of exploring in Canada, ascents to many peaks of South and North America, and various ski touring adventures around the world and in our High Tatras.
The Beginnings - Mountain Sherpa
He was born and grew up under the High Tatras, so he has always been very close to the mountains. Since childhood, He has wandered along the trails in the Tatras, where in addition to the beautiful nature, the mountain sherpas (porters) have won my admiration. He longed to become one of them. His dream came true when he was 17, when his first delivery was to Téry’s Hut. Being a sherpa was everything to him. He pushed the limits of his physical abilities while enjoying the beautiful views of the majestic peaks of the High Tatras. After a while, it wasn’t enough for him to enjoy the views only from the trails, so he wanted to climb the peaks. This is how He gradually got into climbing and ski mountaineering, which He completely fell in love with and found his life’s path in.
Learning about the world and himself
In 1997, he traveled the world for the first time – he spent some time in the USA, earned some money and managed a trip to Alaska. After returning home, he realized that traveling was exactly what he was looking for in life.
Two years later, he found himself in the majestic environment of the Canadian mountains. In Canada, he learned about the possibility of moving to this beautiful country, which was a great challenge for him and it gave him a great desire for adventure.
After returning to Slovakia, together with his friend Juro, they started arranging emigration visas… Unfortunately, Juro never lived to realize this, he was buried in an avalanche in our Tatras.
It was a huge blow for him and it took him almost a year before he finally decided to travel alone to fulfill theirs shared dream.
Achievements he values
The best thing is that he manage to fulfill his dreams in his personal and family life.
Those in the mountains are the icing on the cake:
• 5 x Sherpa Rally winner
• Multiple podium finishes in ski mountaineering races in North America
• Mount McKinley (Denali) – Messner Couloir and West Buttress
• Multi-day ski mountaineering traverses in Canada – Pemberton Icecap traverse, Misty Icefield traverse, McBride traverse, Bugaboos traverse, Bostock-Revelstoke traverse
• During the expedition in South America: climbing the peaks of Artesonraju, Chopicalqui, Huayna Potosi, Parinacota, Quitaraju, Ranrapalca, Sajama, Tocllaraju, Ishinca, Vallunaraju, Pequeno Alpamayo
