Elena Laletina (Saint Petersburg)
Cry about him while he's alive...
Cry about him while he's alive (V. Shakhrin) - Simone, you know, Inaki died on Annapurna an hour ago... Inaki first appeared in my reports in 2003, when he went to Karakorum in the same permit with the Kazakhs - they planned three eight-thousanders: Nanga Parbat, Broad peak and K2. Simone Moro, Jean-Christophe Lafaille and Ed Viesturs were On K2 in 2006 remained Piotr Kuznetsov, Yuri Uteshev, Alexander Foigt and Arkady Mountaineering will never be safe. Especially high-altitude. In the world there are four or five dozens very strong high-altitude climbers, with health, technology, tactics, flair, able to work autonomously at altitude... Let's think about this figure... how small it is... But the risk of heights is for everyone, including the best one. This time on Annapurna while climbing the quite complicated and long route via the South wall of the East ridge, which had been climbed earlier, in trouble was inaki Ochoa de Olza - handsome Basque, nice guy, the popular person, the star of the world of high-altitude mountaineering, an experienced fighter with 12 eight-thousanders under his belt. Inaki was a real athlete, did his job and did not pursue beautiful poses in climbing magazines. I always translated his interesting interviews, which he gave for ExWeb, because I saw there a lot of coinciding with my views.. - There was no team, no one in BC, Simone, who could urgently begin to lift the oxygen... - I don't know... Even Messner went without a team, solo, and was the best of the best... I think it's easier: when the moment comes... and it comes regardless of whether there is a team or not... And yet: often the problem is that climbers do not want to accept the fact that it is necessary to turn back, or take it too late... Ambitions is more dangerous than avalanches... - Inaki has turned back. Maybe a little later than necessary, but who, tell me please, can accurately understand this line? Before leaving for the summit bid from Camp 5, he called home and said he feels tired, and his fingers are freezing ... I think something happened to his blood circulation. But not so clearly, to start to descend immediately... And it was fatal...
When the request for help came from the mountain on May,20 there was no one in the base camp except the cook and Nancy, Inaki girlfriend. The task was urgently in Kathmandu (and distantly, through Internet - from Spain, Russia, Romania, Canada, Poland) to form the rescue team. The fact that the Ochoa family had the possibility to pay for the rescue also played a role... you can understand, how much costs two helicopters (three with return), oxygen, medicines, Sherpas and other... Bogomolov with blackened frostbitten finger returned to the mountain, Don, despite the unpleasant showdown with partners during the previous push, hurried to the rescue. Denis was yanked out of bed in Kathmandu and he rushed to the rescue. There're enough people in the rescue team, but... it was too late... Preparation of the whole operation in spite it was very rapid, took more than a day.
Inaki was laying in the tent at 7400 out of conscious for three and a half days. In the other case, he, the athlete, and lover of life, would fight to the last, but when a person is unconscious, he has nothing to fight for life... The chances were slim, the upcoming descent was not only technically difficult with a prone man, but also terribly long, it would take at least three days to get down to the base camp. But the titanic efforts by Denis and Don, who gained 3000 m per day with a heavy load of oxygen cylinders, gave hope. Parched by the hardest climb Alexey Bolotov, tired, terrible coughing, refused to evacuate from 6200 where he had already descended after the summit, began to carry an oxygen bottle up. Denis, Don and Alexey were already on 6700, in camp 3. It seemed that these guys, with their fantastic energy, will be in time to bring the oxygen, Inaki will be able to breathe, and then the Sherpas will come and help ... Only the helicopter like the one that took Humar off the wall in 2005, could be stronger than these guys... and I'll tell you a secret that the attempt to request it from Pakistan wad been made. But the happy end didn't happen. We lost Inaki. Saying goodbye to him, as well as remembering those who died a few years ago in the same May days Alexey Nikiforov and Volodya Bashkirov, I think about how unfair and inappropriate are appearing sometimes on forums or in magazines "experts" statements, criticizing the ascent, to which they themselves, obviously, have not grown up. This is especially true for the discussions about the style. Complex Himalayan climbing on interesting routes, different from the normal ones, in a light Alpine style, are valued in modern mountaineering. Or winter, or solo... No doubt, they are beautiful, I am proud of the climbers who made them. But some of them is nothing but a game of Russian roulette. Therefore, all sorts of" Fi " in the direction of climbing in a different style - it is usually the cries of people who are trying to make a name for themselves on such criticism, or just idle chatter in chat rooms. In can not be" respected "and" disrespected " styles in mountaineering. The style is determined by the specific goal. Propaganda such as "In modern mountaineering, all who go by a big team and with fixed ropes - this is the last century" is written for those who for some reason cannot or do not want to face the truth. Serious wall climbing in Alpine style or winter climbing on the eight-thousandt is wonderful, until there is nothing fatal. Those in trouble at the top part of such route can rely only on their own strength... There are different routes. Somewhere the quick climb is possible, somewhere - no. Is it possible an emergency descent of the injured or ill climber (or with him) from the wall at high altitude, without the fixed ropes, without oxygen? Think by yourself. Remember how the life of Alexander Ruchkin on Jannu north face was saved, and Ivanov's on K2 west face? There are talented climbers, there are incredible climbers with fantastic opportunities, there are many good, strong, technical and generous climbers, and it seems wrong to put them all in one row, to criticize, to evaluate their ascent in accordance with someone's idea of what is worthy and what is not. No one knows where is his limit... No one knows when his hour will strike... Modern mountaineering is always "on the verge". If below the edge - you can often see those who say "Fi". Above the verge - they're going to say "we're very sorry". Let's take care of friends, love them and appreciate them while they are... alive. We don't need the categorical statements like "spoiled the wall", "last century", " all for the sake of awards." 27 мая 2008 www.Russianclimb.com
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