On Their Shoulders: A Book about Those Who Carry a Somewhat Heavier Load
A design book from Slovakia about the craft of mountain porters, in English
1st edition, printed November 2024
Delivery by courier or to a pick-up point within 48 hours
Don't expect a book full of legends or a porter's encyclopaedia. Instead, we offer a unique chronicle of the perspectives and experiences of people who regularly hike up to mountain huts with a hefty load strapped to their backs and shoulders, get passed by curious hikers, and still manage to enjoy it. Perhaps that is why they are the last of their kind in Europe.
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Some stories about the Tatra huts have still not been told.
For example, about the Pope's secret visit to Sliezsky dom, drawing matches on Rysy, or a certain Czech hiker and her dowry. We invited journalist Samo Marec, whose father was a hut keeper at no fewer than three of them. We described their atmosphere and added interesting facts and timeless tips. We also added original photographs by Jakub Čaprnka and drawings by Ivana Čobejová. The result is a book of untold stories of the Tatra huts. Not only the Slovak ones, but in this English edition the Polish ones too. You'll find tales and reflections in it that no mountain lover should miss.
Because we love the mountains.
And when we carried our Poustre up to the Tatra huts, we fell in love with the huts too. We said to ourselves that they deserve much more space than a single print. After all, it doesn't fully express what these beacons in a sea of rock mean. We said we'd write a book about it. But not just any book…
Did you know that...
Tam Hore and Na Chrbte belong to a series of mountain reportage books. The first explores the huts of the Tatras, the second the mountain porters.
Both books come with a premium cloth cover. So even with frequent reading they won't get scuffed, and they'll stand out even more on your bookshelf, on your coffee table. Or wherever you choose to display them.
Over 2,000 copies of the Slovak edition sold and a place among Slovakia's 20 Most Beautiful Books of 2023 are hopefully guarantee enough that they please the eye inside and out.
We have nothing to hide
Radical transparency is one of our values. So here is exactly what it is made of and where the money you pay goes.
Where your 75 € goes
Healthy margin
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Production6,61 € · 9 %
Printing, paper and binding of the whole book.
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Author team4,06 € · 5 %
Texts, photos, illustrations, design and royalties per copy.
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Marketing8,57 € · 11 %
Advertising. We count 15 % of the price excl. VAT.
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Logistics3,00 € · 4 %
Warehousing in Orava, packing and a shipping subsidy.
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VAT 5%2,86 € · 4 %
The tax we pay to the state.
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Running the company34,90 € · 47 %
Salaries, support, new products and profit.
Specs and materials
Packed content in 10 rest stops – sorry, chapters – plus plenty of curiosities, historical facts, photo stories and illustrated how-tos across 256 pages, make sure this will once again be more of a collector's piece than a practical guide. At 280×215 mm, it will stand out on any shelf.
Carbon footprint
Even a paper book has a footprint. We calculated it for the whole of 2025 and divided it per item: DEFRA 2025 emission factors, transport by parcels, services and marketing by spend (GHG Protocol). We keep refining the method together with our suppliers.
≈ 1.9 kg CO₂e per book. Roughly like driving 11 km by car.
Production1.23 kg · 64 %
Materials, printing, binding and cover.
Running the company and marketing0.43 kg · 22 %
People, software, ads and energy, divided per item.
Transport to us0.19 kg · 10 %
Materials to production and finished products to the warehouse.
Transport to you and packaging0.07 kg · 4 %
Parcel and box.
What we do about it
- We print in Slovakia and Czechia. No air freight. Our warehouse sits next to the printer in Orava, so finished products do not travel for nothing.
- We do not shrink-wrap diaries one by one. We use bulk packaging to cut down on plastic.
- We ship in recycled cardboard and, when we can, in boxes our suppliers sent us goods in.
- For trips and small transfers we book shared transport and BlaBlaCar.
- We print to pre-orders. If something does not sell, it does not end up in the bin but in our outlet or in schools.
What you can do
- Order more things at once. One parcel instead of three.
- Choose a pickup point or locker instead of home delivery. So the courier does not drive out for a single parcel.
- Buy second quality and sale items. We also work with production seconds. Everything usable is cheaper in our second quality section. You save money and rescue something that would not get a chance elsewhere.
- Buy only what you will really use. The smallest footprint belongs to the diary that never had to be made.
What Žurnál fans say
4.92 out of 5 · 12 reviews
Beauty all in one„Beauty that helps quiet the mind.“
Satisfied„Very happy with it. At first glance the book looks luxurious, interesting, beautiful. The inside didn't disappoint either. Brilliant work 👌“
Up There„a really captivating piece of work, I loved the binding too — would recommend to anyone who's a fan of the Tatras and its mountain huts. Pepo.“
Great book„I only flipped through it myself since it was a gift for my wife. But she definitely loves it — she spent several evenings buried in it straight away.“
„The book is a beauty ;) One thing though — on the pages covering Hrebienok and Bilíkova chata, there's a typo in the village name where you set off from. It says Tatranská Lomnica but it should be Starý Smokovec :) Please fix it for the next edition.“
Up There: Untold Stories of Tatra Mountain Huts„This book totally got me — I had goosebumps the whole time I was reading it. Fantastic work, thank you for such a great reading experience and for the motivation to visit the huts in person ;)“
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