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Otmar Hudomal (9 May 1939, Skopje – 4 July 1957) was a high school student, mountaineer, and alpinist of Slovenian descent, known as one of the pioneers of alpinism in Macedonia.
Otmar (9 May 1939, Skopje – 4 July 1957) was a high school student, mountaineer, and alpinist of Slovenian descent, known as one of the pioneers of alpinism in Macedonia.
[[File:Отмар Худомаљ на алпинистички тренинг на Матка.jpg|thumb|Otmar Hudomalj during training for alpine climbing at Matka]]
[[File:Отмар Худомаљ на алпинистички тренинг на Матка.jpg|thumb|Otmar Hudomalj during training for alpine climbing at Matka]]
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:1939 births]]
mountaineer and alpinist (1937–1957)
Otmar Hudomalj (9 May 1939, Skopje – 4 July 1957) was a high school student, mountaineer, and alpinist of Slovenian descent, known as one of the pioneers of alpinism in Macedonia.
Otmar’s parents, Jože and Marija Hudomal, moved from Slovenia to Skopje in 1935 for professional reasons. His father Jože was a forestry engineer who, because of the nature of his work, spent much time in the villages and mountains around Skopje. Their three children were born in Macedonia: their daughter Jožica (in 1937), their son Otmar (in 1939), and their youngest son Marjan (in 1945). After the war, Jože continued working in his forestry profession and made a significant contribution to the afforestation and preservation of Macedonia’s natural resources. Among his many activities, notable is the afforestation project on Vodno, carried out under his leadership.
Almost every summer, the children spent their school vacation in the mountains around Skopje, where Jože worked in the field. In those circumstances, and in the spirit of their parents’ Slovenian tradition, the children grew up with a deep love and respect for the natural beauty of the Macedonian mountains. All three children attended school and gymnasium in Skopje. Jožica and Otmar were actively involved in mountaineering and organized and participated in many activities of the Mountaineering Society of Macedonia, which at that time was in its early phase. Marjan recalls the event when he and Otmar carried bricks in a basket for the construction of the mountain lodge on Vodno.
Otmar was an excellent student and a versatile athlete who, in addition to mountaineering, also played basketball for the basketball club “Rabotnički.” Sometime around 1955, Otmar began practicing alpinism, and together with a small group of Macedonian alpinists, he participated several times in alpine activities in the Kamnik Alps in Slovenia.
Marjan recalls the life in the alpinist society, which according to his memory was led by Ćuro Blaha. In the ground-floor premises of the society, the shooting society of Skopje was also located. Marjan, the son of a hunter and forester, was a member of that society, and together with his brother Otmar attended training sessions in air-rifle shooting. The shooters stood outside on the street, the target was placed on the wall of the building where the society was located, and in the space between the shooters and the target, mountaineers would pass on their way into the society. All of this was very dangerous and exciting.
Almost every Sunday, Otmar and his friends (often with their families) went to their favorite mountains: Kitka, Karadžica, Ljuboten, and others. The brothers Otmar and Marjan often went together to Vodno and practiced climbing on the rock face located on its northern side. They also frequently ran together in the orienteering competitions held on Vodno. Otherwise, Otmar’s wish was to study sports medicine. On 4 July 1957, at the age of 18, Otmar and Dragan Trajkovski (1937–2006), aged 20, attempted to climb the central, highest part of the rock at Matka. Their attempt ended in tragedy. Somewhere in the final difficult pitches (beneath the last overhang), Otmar fell and lost his life. He died in tragic circumstances, but while doing what he loved most—climbing. The tragic event shook all of Skopje. Two years later, their father Jože died after a long illness and from great sorrow. Somewhere near the upper section of the rock Otmar fell and lost his life. Three years after Otmar’s tragic death, on 9 October 1960, Dragan Trajkovski (then 23) together with Todorka Dimitrova (then 19) succeeded in climbing to the top of the rock. They named this newly climbed alpine route “Otmar Hudomal,” in honor of their fallen friend (“Otmar’s Route”), and the rock is today known as Otmar’s Rock.
After Otmar’s death, on the shore of the artificial Lake Matka, opposite Otmar’s Rock, a monument in the shape of a large piton and carabiner was erected, along with a memorial plaque, on 25 May 1959.
Jožica Hudomalj graduated in physics at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Skopje in 1960, and in January 1963 she went for specialization at the Faculty of Science in Zagreb, where she experienced the 1963 earthquake. Marjan Hudomalj finished gymnasium in Skopje in 1964. Due to all these events, the Hudomalj family moved to Slovenia, to Brežice, the birthplace of their mother Marija. Jožica and Marjan completed their studies at the Faculty of Science in Zagreb. Marjan graduated in physical chemistry, and Jožica earned a doctorate in nuclear physics. Marjan lived in Ljubljana with his wife Olga. After finishing his career at the company “Iskra,” Marjan became an active member of the Slovenian Disability Association, where he was also president of the Society of Rheumatics of Slovenia. Marjan Hudomalj died in 2010. Jožica lives in Houston, Texas (USA), with her husband Norman, whom she met when she came to Houston in 1972 for specialization at Rice University. Norman is also a physicist. The mother of Jožica, Otmar, and Marjan, Marija, died in 2013.
In recent years, another memorial plaque has been placed right next to the original one, on which Otmar Hudomal’s surname and the year of his death are incorrectly written, and according to reactions on social media from people who knew him, it has been established that the person in the photograph is not Otmar Hudomalj at all. It is not known who installed this memorial plaque with incorrect information and photo.
