Anatoly Bukreev: On the one hand, I realized how much I know about high-altitude mountaineering, on the other hand, how much I still don’t know... A tragedy with one of the best climbers in Russia, with one of the strongest and most experienced.
Don’t you think that precisely because he is experienced, Bashkirov took on such responsibility and was unable to relieve it even in such a difficult condition? After all, he said that he was sick before going out for the assault?
Anatoly: I can describe the situation. We returned from a joint ascent of Everest with the Indonesians, where we were consultants, trainers and a rescue team. Evgeniy Vinogradsky, Volodya Bashkirov and I - we participated in such a large, extraordinary national Indonesian event, which took a lot of energy out of us. I don’t know how it is with Zhenya and Volodya, maybe it was easier for them, but after last year’s tragedy, when they dumped a lot of criticism on my shoulders, when I did everything possible to save people, it was very difficult for me. It seems that I was one of the heroes, and at the same time I made some mistakes, according to many. Then the best mountaineering guides, the best and most experienced, died. The same Rob Hall who climbed for the fifth time and died on the descent with a client - he was responsible for others, weaker ones. The weaker ones also died. The storm definitely cut people off from life, without distinguishing who was strong and who was weak. It started, people lost visibility on the descent, remained at altitude, which led to death. During last year's tragedy, I saved three people, but I did not use oxygen. They say it's my fault. But I was in such shape, I climbed three eight-thousanders last year, the last one (Manaslu) 2 months before Everest, I had such a huge acclimatization, a form where I felt that I didn’t need additional oxygen. This year the situation after the car accident, after not training, having had 2 surgeries, is completely different.
You encounter unexpected situations. Last year, the best, strongest climbers died. Scott Fisher - I consider him the best high-altitude climber in America. Rob Hall was an Everest expert, he ran a company called Adventure Consultants, and it was a firm known all over the world, he took many clients to the top of Everest, ensuring safety, And then his two clients died, the guide and himself died. This is during a storm. I worked in this situation, did what I could, pulled out clients, making extraordinary decisions that diverged from the decisions of conservative guides. For example, I did everything my own way, differently, and it helped me survive, and I saved others. But these extraordinary decisions of mine are in no way consistent with the experience of Western climbers. We had a lot of disagreements with climbers who are considered monsters (Todd Burleson, Ed Viesturs, who is already on Everest for the fifth time - they are now standing right there in the Armed Forces) They began to criticize me. In the States, in huge publications in magazines (Life. Climbing, etc.) there was a lot of positive and a lot of negative things about this.
And therefore, on the current expedition, I had a very large burden of responsibility. The expedition squeezed everything out of me, ate me psychologically. Bashkirov, too, I think, this expedition squeezed out an incredible amount of strength, because he did all the preparation, carried out this entire event. I was a consultant. I did not advertise my physical problems, that I had 2 operations in the States, I sat there and organized all the equipment and material and technical preparation for the expedition. Volodya sat in Nepal and coached the team.
And then, we had an unforeseen situation. Usually we come to an expedition, acclimatize, and make our own sport climb, giving it our all. Here we got acclimatized and gave it our all with the Indonesians, and tried to save strength for our most important event. Bashkirov and his team were going to make the traverse Lhotse - Lhotse Shar. And I got together with my Italian friend Simone Moro for the Lhotse - Everest traverse. If we had passed it, it would have been of great global significance, on par with the traverse of the Lhotse massif.
We thought this vacation would bring a positive moment and there would be a better chance of success in the next event. It turned out the other way around. Having descended to Kathmandu, after hard, enormous work, we sharply dropped altitude and found ourselves inactive for 12 days. It's like stopping a horse in full gallop. Or your car is racing at a speed of 130 km per hour, and if you brake sharply, what will happen to the car? The same thing happened to our bodies, I think so.
Everything was very similar for both me and Volodya. During the traverse, after completing one third of the work that needed to be done, I was not far from staying in the mountains forever.
Volodya had the same thing. At the first stage, we kept in touch and interacted with the Russian expedition. We hoped to spend the night in camp 4, but it turned out that we didn’t have a chance, and we started straight away from camp 3. And already in the 4th camp, I saw that the Russian team began to have some problems that should have been resolved before the start of the traverse, and this again fell as a burden on the shoulders of the leader, the strongest and most experienced climber. At 4 in the morning we approached camp 4, when the Russian team was already leaving, and we decided to rest for a couple of hours, since there would be a lot of people on the route, and we would really need a rest after continuous four-hour work. I stayed with Simone and I noticed something unusual with my health and after this holiday I was not in the shape I expected. I connected this with the fact that we usually prepared differently before the assault. Now our body was not ready for this - we broke the normal training schedule that I followed for 20 years, Volodya for 25 years.
Bashkirov took on such a task - he couldn’t tell the guys - here you go, but I won’t go because I’m sick. He took up this traverse, prepared it for 4 years - he could not help but go...
Anatoly: Take Kanchenjunga for example. (referring to the Kanchenjunga traverse - the second Soviet Himalayan expedition - editor's note) To go on a difficult route, the best climbers trained, did not work for 2 years, were selected so that the best from each region would get into this twenty, and these 20 people worked on the traverse. A powerful two-year training was underway, the best were selected from the Soviet school of mountaineering, which is one of the strongest in the world in the high-altitude class.
And then we walked this traverse. What a mood I had... What preparation I had... What preparation the team had... And now I compare the Kanchenjunga traverse with the Lhotse - Lhotse Shar traverse. These are identical tasks. It’s hard to say which is more difficult: Kanchenjunga is higher and longer, but technically more difficult here. Everything there was thought out and technically secure, but here not everything is so technically prepared. I'm not saying anything bad about the guys - I just don't know. I know well what I was worth 6-7 years ago, what I am worth now. I can evaluate, for example, the preparation of the same Koroteev, or Bogomolov. Young people - well, what conditions do they have now - and what conditions did we have, for example, in the national team... When we lived in Esher, we trained 3 times a day, ate for 20 rubles a day, which with today’s money I don’t even know how many thousands it would be ... I don't understand money... But it was a lot of money...
Do they usually go downstairs to rest before climbing?
Anatoly: Yes, they are going down. Sometimes you come down after doing hard work at height and hit a high, but the high is always followed by a low. If you find yourself in a recession (and for us, our well-being follows a sine wave), then you find yourself in such a recession that your well-being and protective forces in the body are two times lower than usual. And now we are just in the recession. Every person has certain health problems. My bronchitis worsened, my nasopharynx was blocked, and I felt sick. The throat problems worsened in a matter of hours. I left camp 3 from a height of 7200, feeling great, and approached camp 4 - Volodya Bashkirov was just leaving. I asked him how he was doing. “I don’t feel quite well,” he replied. I, I say, am not okay either. I'll rest and see how I feel. I will work according to how I feel, but somehow I’m not in the state I would like to be in. The same thing sounded from him. So we exchanged these words.
We rested for two hours. Simone is 10 years younger than me, he is a strong climber, but not very experienced, and I carried the entire backpack on the traverse. I thought that maybe the problems were due to the weight of the backpack, since I was carrying a lot. At 8300-8400 we had already caught up with the Russian team, passed them, and I left my backpack to then go on the traverse.
Are you the first to climb Lhotse Main?
Anatoly: Only Babanov stood up in front of us. And someone else. Gleb Sokolov. I kept telling Simone - don't rush, we still have 2-3 days of hard work at great altitudes. I left my backpack - it didn’t make it any easier. Well, the Koroteevs are already ahead, the Bashkirovs are ahead. Bashkirov, I see, is making a film - everything is fine. Bashkirov - he is always in himself, never advertises his weakness, you can never tell from him how he is - Bashkirov is Bashkirov. We exchanged words with him. I say: “Somehow I’m floating away from the real world, I feel bad, either I’ve lost acclimatization, or I’m sick.” Everything worked out as a whole. The correct training schedule was broken and chronic illnesses worsened. Ask for help - but they have enough problems of their own. But just in case, I warned that I could stay here on the descent. If they see that I’m lying somewhere in the snow, don’t be surprised...
And Volodya says to me: “Listen, I had a fever at night and I didn’t feel well.” I asked: "How are you now?" “It’s normal,” he says, “just a very big weakness.” He tells us - come on in, I’ll still wait for the last ones, Pershin will probably be the last one there, I’ll wait for Valera, and you go through.
We went up the climb, I climbed to the top on autopilot, we filmed there, and I already felt - I was in such a state - I was dropping the camera case. “Simone,” I say, “let’s go downstairs to the backpack, I feel bad, we’ll decide what to do there.” The only thing that can help in such a situation is a quick drop in altitude. If you remain at altitude, the condition worsens rapidly.
On the way down I stopped next to Volodya and told him: “I don’t know whether I’ll go down or not.” Well, they have their own problems.
Of course, when I saw that Bogomolov was getting up... And Bashkirov was determined to wait for everyone. Bogomolov got up late. In principle, it was impossible to get up too late...
When you went down, what was Bashkirov’s condition? Did he get worse?
Anatoly: I didn't pay attention because I was bad myself. Simone told me that Volodya’s eyes changed dramatically.
Was Bashkirov without glasses at that moment?
Anatoly: He periodically took off his glasses and worked with the camera. He remained silent about his condition. He said that he would wait for the last one and he needed to take pictures at the same time.
It was obvious that he was not feeling well, but a weak person, when he feels bad, he cannot get up, he cannot work. A strong person can work at the level of a weak one. Therefore, the risk of death for a strong person at altitude is much higher than for a weak one. Because the barrier of the weak is triggered, and he does not go further, but the strong overcome himself...
In addition, Simone and I worked as a two-piece and could descend quickly. But Bashkirov was forced to stay. On the one hand, this is an excuse for yourself to stop. On the other hand, he lingered at altitude, and this aggravated his condition. And this seems to be easier. When a person freezes, it seems to him that he is warm and good, he simply leaves the real world. It’s the same thing at altitude - you really float away and stop assessing the situation.
It was 12 o'clock when Bashkirov last made contact. He needed to start descending, perhaps he needed help, but he told the guys to continue working on the route and fixing the ropes. He himself was still at least 5 hours from the summit. What does it mean? He never made contact again. Didn't evaluate yourself?
Anatoly: First of all, I didn’t rate it. Secondly, he was responsible for the group. He had to evaluate the group. Let's say I'm hosting an event, I'm climbing with a team. I drop out, but the idea remains, the group must continue to work.
Why didn't he admit that he felt bad and ask for help from the team?
Anatoly: Well, we are talking about 12 hours, but he got really bad, maybe at 5-6 or 8 hours.
When did you talk to him?
Anatoly: At 4 am in the camp, at 13-00 before the summit and somewhere at 14-14.15 on the descent.
Bashkirov and I climbed Everest, gave our all in the same way, did all the preparation in the same way, rested the same way downstairs and got sick in the same way. I think this is no coincidence. My condition also changed in a matter of hours. I went on this traverse as a super test, I believed in this success, I was ready for it. 4 hours later, approaching the tents at 7900, I doubted the success of the event. After another 2 hours I felt sick, after another 2 hours I was floating away from the real world. The same is with Bashkirov. Simone is more observant, he says that when we talked to Volodya at 13:00, he was smiling and was fine, but an hour later his condition changed dramatically.
Regarding rescue work - was there such a case on an eight-thousander where the guys went up the mountain, then went down to the tents, then again actually walked halfway up for a rescue, and at night? Here you are on Everest - you climbed it for the second time...
Anatoly: I worked for three days in a storm with no visibility. When all the experienced Sherpas refused to work and even leave the tent. And in general, I know what heights and rescues are after climbing. I had to do this after Everest. I managed to save people when I worked without oxygen and climbed Everest. It's hard to explain after that - people have no idea what I was able to do. It’s just unrealistic - in terms of well-being, in terms of costs. Last year I had to be on the edge these three days...
You go into a risk zone, you can save, or you can stay... That’s why you decide to do this... Well, foreigners, they just didn’t understand when they found Bashkirov’s body 100 meters from the tent, on a rope - they don’t understand that the guys worked and they did everything they could... And when the man had already died, and nothing could be done to help him, they went down to the tent and began to fight for their lives.
Then did they go up to him again?
Anatoly: Yes, then just pay the debt of respect to wrap the body so as not to leave it unattended. What they could do, they did.
In the Himalayas they are now trying not to move into the risk zone; there are many commercial events. They try not to risk anything, and not to be in a situation where they need to be saved. If you find yourself in a situation like we did last year, it means you made a mistake. A mistake with the weather. This means that you are inexperienced, and as a result of your inexperience, someone dies. But in the mountains, if you don't take risks, you have very little chance of success. And let’s say this year 6 people from Russia died, which is a lot for the season. This is a notable event, anti-advertising, so to speak, for Russian mountaineering.
I was surprised when I looked at the lists of participants in Makalu. Only Efimov had 4 eight-thousanders.
Anatoly: This is a big problem. Whoever has no experience, no matter how technically prepared he is... If you have no experience, the risk of dying increases, plus if you are strong but inexperienced, this is even much more dangerous. You will easily climb into a dangerous zone, and there you will grunt. Without experience.
Here, you see, people are experienced, there are a huge number of chances - and they die, like last year on classic routes... The strongest and most experienced die - because they work harder, plus responsibility for others eats up energy - and you are left at zero .
The death of Russian climbers also confirms your words that the strongest and most experienced die?
Anatoly: More precisely, the strongest and the weakest have a greater chance of dying, and in the middle it is somehow simpler. If a person, in addition to everything else, also bears the psychological burden of responsibility for others...
For a long time, Russian mountaineering existed only in Russia, only in the USSR; abroad, only people climbed with their own people. Now it seems the gates have opened - and preparations have sharply deteriorated. People go out like...
How about last chance?
Anatoly: Yes, they live like it was the last time. After working for the last 5 years, I also wondered what I used to do and what I would not like to do now. I compared myself to Western climbers. They never take risks. They have a credit card, a bank account, a house in California or on the islands somewhere. He has a good life, he came to relax. Someone's mistake can lead to the death of another person. In the mountains you need to depend only on yourself, on your own strength, so expecting that someone will help at high altitude is immoral.
Is it easier to work in a team?
Anatoly: It's easier when you work in a team. You climb together, you carry the loads together.
Last year I did what I thought was an extraordinary thing when I saved people. Not a single guide, even from the neighboring ones, came to the rescue. Yasuko Namba died - no one came out to help. I brought oxygen to three - three survived. Yasuko Namba was nearby, but she had no oxygen. I only gave oxygen to my clients (I only had 2 cylinders available). I pulled one out on my shoulders (while helping, she was able to walk) - we walked 400 m for 40 minutes, there was a strong headwind, we walked for 40 minutes on level ground. I just carried her on me. Charlette Fox. It's better not to get into such situations. Now she doesn’t remember or understand it. A professional can evaluate, but again, a professional will say - why did you get into this situation? You should have seen it coming. If you get caught, it's your fault.
Last year, magazines in the West widely covered the tragedy on Everest. We will have something written - six people died this season...?
Anatoly: As for the West, I realized after last year’s tragedy that any tragedy, any mourning attracts the press and television. The media are greedy for tragic cases. If our ascent to Everest had gone off without a hitch, no one would have remembered. And now they remember how good people were - as they usually remember after death. In the West it is also associated with making money. Having done what I did, you expect some kind of attention, respect, but there, on the contrary, they began to inflate this tragedy. Trumpet it. Yes, there are a lot of deaths. Last year we made a flawless climb in the Himalayas, were returning home, and in a minibus we got into a car accident, where a 24-year-old young climber died - there are a lot of different situations...
And in the West, after last year’s tragedy, I don’t like a lot, because people are making big, crazy money on this, presenting events the way America wants, and not the way it really happened. Now Hollywood is making a film, I don’t know what they will make of me - with some kind of red star, with a flag in my hands - and how they will present it to American society - it is clear that it will be completely different...
Have they talked to you about this?
Anatoly: Yes, they are trying to come to an agreement, yes... it doesn’t matter... I wish it wasn’t like in the West, when people only make money from any negative event. And they forget about everything when it comes to millions of bucks - you can turn the story any way you want.
Everest Base Camp, Nepal, May 1997.
Primary source (video recording of the interview) © Victor Kozlov 1997
Text (edition): © Elena Laletina 2002
Photos: © Gleb Sokolov 1997
RISE
Translation from English soon by Petpa Cepreeva
B A C K MCHMO MOCKBA, 2BBK 75.82 B 90
Bukreev A. N., G. Weston De Walt
B 90 Ascension: Transl. from English - M.: MTsNMO, 2002. - 376 p., 16 p. ill. ISBN 5-94057-039-9
The book is dedicated to the tragic events of 1996 on Everest: it is a mournful, heroic story of the death of five climbers on the highest peak of the world. The unique rescue operation described in the book has no analogues in the history of world mountaineering.
“The Ascent” is a testimony of one of the main participants in the expedition - the outstanding Russian climber Anatoly Boukreev, who describes in detail, day after day, the course of events, trying to understand the causes of the tragedy. Anatoly Bukreev himself, shortly after writing the book, tragically died in an avalanche while climbing Annapurna on December 25, 1997, 1.5 years after the events described.
Cover photo V. Nevorotina
Maps and diagrams were drawn specifically for the Russian edition
WITH. Maktskevich
Copyright © 1997 by Anatoli Boukreev and G.Weston DeWalt
© BASK, Translation into Russian 2002 © LWylie, V. Sedelnikov, V. Nevorotin
ISBN 0-312-20637-2 (English) Photographs, 2002
ISBN 5-94057-039-9 (Russian) © S. Maktskevich. Maps and diagrams, 2
Mountains have the power to call us to their lands
Our friends will forever lie there
People with great souls reach for heights
Don't forget those who didn't come from the heights...
Anatoly Bukreev
The publication of the book “Ascent” is dedicated to the memory of
Anatoly Bukreeva
Vladimir Bashkirov
Dmitry Sobolev
Yasuko Namba
Ngawanga Topshe
Scott Fisher
Andy Harris
Doug Hansen
Bruce Herod
Rob Hall
Chen Yu Yang
Alex Davis
Ervand Ilyinsky
Terry Le Monchek
Simon Moreau
Harry Neptune
Bob Palace
Diana Taylor
Linda Wiley
Betty Wild
Jen and Shirley Fisher
Jenny Fisher
Rinat Khaibullin
From the publishers
Let no one dare judge Icarus for his crazy flight, just as no one dare judge the Sun, who melted his wings.
Daniil Andreev
It just so happens that our work for the last twelve years has been constantly connected with extraordinary people: leaders of mountaineering, polar, yachting, parachute expeditions, strong athletes, solo travelers. By helping such people, you unwittingly become an accomplice in their risky projects. Many became our friends.
In memory of our fallen friends Anatoly Bukreev and Vladimir Bashkirov, we decided to translate and publish this book in Russia.
Sergey and Vladimir Bogdanov, BASK company
Translator's Preface
Translated publications on mountaineering topics are published infrequently. All the more symbolic is the appearance in Russia of such a book as “The Ascent.” Among the many publications published in the West and now published here, “The Ascension” stands apart.
The fact is that one of the co-authors and the main character of the book is our compatriot Anatoly Boukreev, one of the best high-altitude climbers of the twentieth century. Life turned out so strangely that he had to write the book in English. Forced to express himself in a foreign language, Boukreev concentrated entirely on the accuracy of the presentation of facts, without worrying too much about the sophistication of the style. When translating, we tried to preserve his style of narration. As in the original edition, Anatoly's words in the book are in italics.
In addition to the complete translation of the book “The Ascent,” this edition also contains the memoirs of Anatoly Bukreev’s friends, written by them specifically for this occasion.
In conclusion of our brief preface, I would like to note those who helped the emergence of “Ascension” in Russian. First of all, this is Vladimir Bogdanov, a friend of Anatoly Bukreev and the head of the BASK company, a leader among Russian manufacturers of mountaineering equipment. Without his initiative and support, the publication of “The Ascent” would have been simply impossible. We are especially grateful to the wonderful literary editor of the book, Polina Kuznetsova, and Stepan Maktskevich, who created all the illustrations and diagrams for the Russian edition. Ivan Yashchenko, who organized the preparation of the book for publication, was very sympathetic to the idea of publishing “The Ascent” in Russian.
I would also like to thank all members of our mountaineering community who provided great assistance in translating “The Ascent,” especially Vadim Beshanov (Kharkov), Alexey Dmitrenko (Limassol), Rinat Khaibullin (Alma-Ata) and Sergey Shibaev (St. Petersburg).
Petr Sergeev
Preface to the Russian edition
The book by Anatoly Bukreev is a canvas of the tragic events of the spring of 1996 on the southeastern ridge of the greatest mountain in the world. Events during which several groups of climbers rushed to the top, catching a window in the weather. The highest point was reached by 27 people, but on the descent five disappeared in the storm, and two more received severe frostbite. Events that went down in the history of world mountaineering as an example of both irresponsible decisions and unparalleled heroism. Events where the destinies of a millionaire and a postal employee were intertwined; where a dying climber says goodbye to his pregnant wife via satellite phone and chooses a name for his unborn child with her; where the one who lay under the snow and ice for 12 hours, abandoned by his partners, remains alive.
“The Ascent” is the testimony of not just an eyewitness, but one of the main participants in these events.
The statistics of ascents to the top of Everest indicate that it has always been difficult to conquer it. Since the 20s of the twentieth century, expeditions with tons of cargo, staffed by a climbing team of two to three dozen people, were sent to Nepal. Climbing the mountain was reminiscent of the siege of a medieval castle, on the outskirts of which a camp is set up and week after week the besiegers attack the walls and plumbs again and again, making their way through fog and blizzard.
From the moment Hillary and Tenzing first reached the peak of the Earth's high pole in 1953 until the end of the 90s. 1161 people reached the top. 151 died, counting from the day of the first ascent to the summit, and 175, taking into account the very first attempts. The statistics are that approximately every fifth person remains forever on the slopes of the giant
Often these are people who have devoted many years of their lives to the art of mountain climbing, who have traveled long paths from the peaks of the Alps to the giant Himalayan ascents. In that year, 1996, 98 climbers reached the summit of Everest, but another figure also became a “record” - 15 climbers left their own on the mountain life.
Canvas windbreakers and sisal ropes have been replaced by Gore-Tex jackets and synthetic fibers, but the essence, in general, remains the same: working at the limit, in an atmosphere where there is a third less oxygen than down in the valley.
The equipment was improved, the psychology of the climbers changed. There are practically no blank spots left in the world, and what seemed inaccessible just yesterday is today perceived as ordinary, and a week later in the news feed it is replaced by new events. But just like 50 years ago, you can only get to the top of Everest with your own feet. Step by step. Showing extraordinary patience, will and courage.
Of course, the more inaccessible the fruit is, the sweeter it is. In 1985, Texas millionaire Dick Bass paid for the services of guides and with their help climbed to the top of Everest. The idea that you can buy ascent was finally established in the West in the early 90s. Commercial expeditions appear that undertake to do everything to ensure that the client gets to the top. They take upon themselves the organization of the expedition, delivery of participants to the base camp, organization of the route and intermediate camps, accompanying the client and securing him all the way up and down. The client comes with an oxygen apparatus, and all this pleasure, growing in price, currently reaches 50,000~65,000 dollars.
But no amount of money can buy weather, wind, snow. The client is guaranteed services and assistance, but not reaching the top. And there is no clause on safe return in these agreements. The element of the mountains is such that the most experienced and skilled are sometimes unable to resist it. This is evidenced by the fates of many “stars” of mountaineering, and the author of this book too...
It was on such a commercial expedition that Anatoly Boukreev was invited as a guide.
Anatoly was born in 1958 in the Chelyabinsk region. However, for many years he lived on the state farm “Mountain Gardener” near Talgar and after the collapse of the USSR he remained in Kazakhstan, accepting the citizenship of the republic. Anatoly gets into the mountains as a 16-year-old boy and within ten years becomes one of the strongest high-altitude climbers in the country. Bukreev's first eight-thousander is the third peak of the world - Kanchenjunga. During the preparation process, Tolya invariably takes first place in the qualifying “races”, climbing both Elbrus and Communism Peak faster than all the contenders. Then in 14 hours he climbs to the top of Lenin Peak.
My new article “The Unconquered Peak of Anatalia Bukreeva”, published in the Russian geographical magazine “Picturesque Russia” (No. 6, 2015). It is dedicated to the great Russian mountaineer Anatoly Boukreev, his life, incredible records and tragic death in the mountains.
On September 24, 2015, the action-packed film “Everest” by Icelandic film director Baltasar Kormakur was released on Russian screens. The film is based on real events that occurred in the Himalayas in May 1996. Then, three commercial mountaineering expeditions, which included both experienced climbers and tourists who had no experience in conquering eight-thousanders, climbed the highest mountain in the world. During the descent, several climbers were caught in a severe snowstorm, in which five people died. There could have been more victims if not for the legendary Russian climber from Kazakhstan Anatoly Boukreev, guide of Scott Fisher’s Mountain Madness group. He single-handedly saved three freezing climbers at night on the South Col of Everest in a snowstorm with zero visibility.
During his lifetime, the personality of Anatoly Bukreev was overgrown with legends, disputes and speculation. The tragedy on Everest, the scandalous book of the ascent participant, journalist Jon Krakauer, “In Thin Air,” and Boukreev’s own response to the American in the book “Ascent. Tragic Ambitions on Everest” with its version of what happened added even more fuel to the fire of furious discussions about the identity of the legendary climber.
“The Tiger of the Himalayas” - this is the nickname given to Anatoly Boukreev by his colleagues - he climbed Everest alone four times. Winner of the title “Snow Leopard” (1985), Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1989). Conqueror of eleven eight-thousanders on the planet, and made a total of 18 ascents on them. Cavalier of the Order “For Personal Courage” (1989), Kazakhstan Medal “For Courage” (1998, posthumously), laureate of the American Alpine Club’s David Souls Award, awarded to climbers who saved people in the mountains at risk to their own lives (1997) (American climbers, unlike his compatriot journalist, they presented him with an award precisely for saving lives during the ascent of Everest). Many considered him a super climber. The legendary Italian peak conqueror Messner, who climbed all 14 eight-thousanders on Earth, has repeatedly said that Anatoly is the strongest climber in the world.
Anatoly Bukreev was born in the city of Korkino (Chelyabinsk region) in 1958. In his youth, he was diagnosed with chronic asthma. Who would have thought that he would become one of the most authoritative climbers in history, and would make all ascents without using an oxygen mask. At the age of 12, he began to climb the low hills of the Ural Range around his native Korkino. As a student, he travels to the south in the summer and climbs his first three to four thousand meters in the mountains of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
In 1979, he graduated from the Chelyabinsk State Pedagogical Institute with a degree in physics teacher, and also received a diploma as a ski coach. During his student years he made his first ascents in the Tien Shan. Two years later, Anatoly moved to Kazakhstan, where he lived near Almaty and worked as a ski trainer at a regional youth sports school, and then as a mountain instructor at CSKA. After the collapse of the USSR, he remained to live in Kazakhstan, receiving its citizenship.
Boukreev made his first ascents of the seven-thousanders of the Pamirs as part of the Kazakhstan mountaineering team. In 1989, he became a member of the Second Soviet Himalayan Expedition under the leadership of Eduard Myslovsky. At the same time, in preparation for the expedition, Boukreev sets records. In 1987, he made the first high-speed ascent in Soviet mountaineering to Lenin Peak along the northern slope from the base camp (4200 m) to the peak (7134 m) (8 hours for the ascent and 6 hours for the descent to the base camp). In the same year, he made a high-speed ascent to the Peak of Communism (from an altitude of 6700 m to 7400 m) in 1 hour 25 minutes - first place among candidates for the Second Soviet Himalayan Expedition and a high-speed ascent to Elbrus (from an altitude of 4200 m to 5350 m in 1 hour 07 min) - first place among candidates for the Himalayan team. During the expedition, for the first time, all four peaks of the Kanchenjunga massif were traversed (Main (8586 m), Western (8505 m), Central (8482 m) and Southern (8494 m)).
For this achievement, he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR and Master of Sports of International Class, and was also awarded the Order for Personal Courage. In mountaineering, a traverse of peaks is the passage of at least two peaks, and the descent from the previous peak should take place in the direction of the next one, but not along the ascent path.
In 1988, Bukreev made a traverse of three peaks of Pobeda Peak (Western (6918 m) - Main (7439 m) - Eastern (7060 m)) (first ascent), climbing the peak of Military Topographers (6873 m) in the Central Tien Shan in composition of the USSR national team. In 1990, he made the first high-speed solo ascent to Pobeda Peak in 36 hours and the first high-speed solo ascent to Khan Tengri Peak (7010 m). In general, he conquered the highest peaks of the world, a record for the CIS, 21 times. In this, climber Denis Urubko later equaled him. Urubko himself recalled his colleague in one of his interviews: “Anatoly Bukreev was incomprehensible to us, unfamiliar - we were young, completely bad, in our company we somehow could not accept him, because he was just a different person, of a different plan . And, of course, it was a mistake. Because now, looking back, I think how many necessary and important things I could have learned with this person.”
Boukreev was not a public person, he was reserved and loved to be alone. In the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, he always rented the same room in the same hotel, and he could often be seen alone in a cafe. The climber’s friend, American Linda Wiley, recalled: “He always avoided women, was never married, and did not want to burden anyone with his affection. I think he felt that the mountains would take him away. He saw the widows of his comrades and knew how hard it was for them and their children to have no support. And I myself did not want to be the cause of such grief.”
After the collapse of the Union, Bukreev accepted Kazakh citizenship and continued successful, often solo, ascents in the Himalayas and Karakoram in the 90s, working as a high-altitude guide-consultant for many foreign expeditions. On June 30, 1995, at the mass alpiniad to Abai Peak (4010 m) in the Trans-Ili Alatau, he was the personal guide of President Nazarbayev. Takes part in the Second and Third successful Kazakhstan Himalayan expeditions to Manaslu and Cho Oyu in 1995 and 1996. And alone he conquers the eight-thousanders Lhotse, Shisha Pangma, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum II and becomes one of the strongest climbers on the planet.
But the country in which he was born and raised always remained home for the great climber. “I've been abroad many times. Sometimes I was away from home for six months. But he kept coming back. Because I missed our air, our atmosphere in which I grew up. And I consider myself a citizen of the world. They tell me: “Anatoly, you train in America, you live in Kazakhstan, and you come from the Urals.” I answer: and so it turns out that I spend most of the time a year in Nepal. But I'm Soviet. I remained a Soviet man..." he said.
He earned money for his climbs himself, working as a commercial guide. This is what he himself said about this: “To earn money, I have to work as a guide on international expeditions. This does not cause me much delight, to put it mildly. After all, I have to work according to a plan that was not drawn up by me. I agree to be a guide because I need money - for life, for my ascents, although, of course, there is no time for self-expression on such expeditions.”
Such a commercial ascent was the conquest of the summit of Everest in the spring of 1996. American climber Scott Fisher, who was the first to conquer the fourth highest peak in the world, Lhotse, back in the 1980s. founded the Mountain Madness company, which offered its clients climbing the highest mountains in the world. In the 1990s, Fischer's company began offering tourists the conquest of the world's highest peak, Everest.
Rob Hall's team before the base camp tragedy
Anatoly Boukreev belonged to the elite club of eight-thousander climbers who climbed without the use of oxygen cylinders. And this was not the whim of a famous climber. When climbing peaks, 90% of climbers use additional oxygen equipment. In conditions of height and thin air, it is oxygen equipment that can help a person avoid mortal danger. At altitude, lack of oxygen can trigger the rapid development of two serious diseases - cerebral edema and pulmonary edema. This is due to the fact that a sharp lack of oxygen during increased physical activity becomes a real shock for the body, and it simply refuses to work normally. But there are also obvious disadvantages to this, which can lead to a tragic outcome - if the oxygen equipment is damaged or the oxygen supply is exhausted, the climber very quickly weakens and loses strength. That is why Boukreev walked without oxygen, preferring to rely on his own strength, always carefully preparing for the ascent and undergoing proper acclimatization during the ascent stages. When Scott Fisher invited Boukreev to work at Mountain Madness, he knew he could rely on this man.
In May 1996, simultaneously with Fisher's expedition, a New Zealand commercial expedition from Adventure Consultants, led by Rob Hall, was working on the mountain. Due to a number of organizational and tactical miscalculations, some of the clients of the two expeditions, as well as their leaders, after the final assault on the summit did not have time to return to the assault camp on the South Col at an altitude of 7900 m before dark, and as a result of the bad weather that broke out at night, eight people died (in including Hall and Fischer themselves), and two others were injured.
Scott Fisher
For the necessary acclimatization in the mountains, the participants of the Mountain Madness expedition had to fly from Los Angeles on March 23 to Kathmandu, and on March 28 fly to Lukla (2850 m). On April 8, the entire group was already in Base Camp. Unexpectedly for everyone, the group's guide, Neil Bidleman, developed a so-called “high altitude cough.” After Biddleman, other members of the expedition began to experience health problems. Nevertheless, everyone carefully followed the “acclimatization schedule.” However, as it turned out later, Scott Fischer was in poor physical shape and took 125 mg of Diamox daily, which relieves edema.
By May 1, all members of the Mountain Madness expedition had completed the acclimatization climb, and it was decided to begin the climb to the summit on May 5, and later the start date was moved to May 6. Shortly after the start of the climb, climber Dale Cruz's condition worsened again, and Fisher decided to return and escort him down.
According to Henry Todd of the Himalayan Guides group, he met Scott Fisher while he was climbing the Khumbu Glacier. He was alarmed by the last words uttered by Fisher before continuing his journey: “I’m afraid for my people. I don't like the way things are going."
On May 8, the Mountain Madness climbers were unable to travel to Camp III on time due to strong winds. However, A. Boukreev and S. Fischer managed to overtake the members of Rob Hall’s “Adventure Consultants” expedition. On the morning of May 9, the climbers set off for Camp IV. On the climb they formed a chain of 50 people, since in addition to the Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness, another commercial expedition from the United States, led by Daniel Mazur and Jonathan Pratt, was also climbing. Having reached the South Col (South Col), the climbers encountered difficult weather conditions. As Bukreev later recalled, “it was truly a hellish place, if only hell can be so cold: an icy wind, the speed of which exceeded 100 km/h, raged on the open plateau, empty oxygen cylinders were scattered everywhere, abandoned here by participants of previous expeditions.” Clients of both expeditions discussed the possibility of delaying the summit, which was scheduled for the next morning. Hall and Fisher decided that the ascent would take place.
Shortly after midnight on May 10, the Adventure Consultants expedition began their ascent up the southern slope from Camp IV, which was located at the top of the South Col (approximately 7,900 m). They were joined by 6 clients, 3 guides and Sherpas (local guides) from Scott Fisher's Mountain Madness group, as well as a Taiwanese expedition sponsored by the Taiwanese government. Leaving Camp IV at midnight, the climbers, if everything went according to plan, could expect to reach the summit in 10-11 hours.
Soon, unscheduled stops and delays began due to the fact that the Sherpas and guides did not have time to secure the ropes by the time the climbers reached the site. It cost them 1 hour. It is not possible to find out the reasons for what happened, since both leaders of the expedition died. However, there is evidence that several groups of climbers (approximately 34 people) were on the mountain that day, which undoubtedly could have affected the congestion of the route and caused delays.
Upon reaching the Hillary Step, a vertical ridge on Everest's southeast ridge, climbers were again faced with the problem of loose equipment, forcing them to waste another hour waiting for the problem to be fixed. Given that 34 climbers were climbing to the summit at the same time, Hall and Fisher asked expedition members to stay 150 m away from each other. Jon Krakauer and Ang Dorje climbed to an altitude of 8500 m at 5:30 am and reached the Balcony. By 6:00 am Bukreev ascended to the Balcony.
The balcony is part of the so-called “death zone” - a place where, due to cold and lack of oxygen, a person cannot stay for long, and any delay can be fatal. However, another delay arises. All climbers are forced to wait until the Sherpas tighten the railings again. Such railings must be laid to the South Summit (8748 m)
Climbing without the use of oxygen, Anatoly Boukreev reached the top first, at approximately 13:07. A few minutes later Jon Krakauer appeared at the top. After some time, Harris and Biddleman. Many of the remaining climbers did not reach the summit before 14:00 - the critical period after which it is necessary to begin the descent for a safe return to Camp IV and overnight.
Anatoly Boukreev began to descend to Camp IV only at 14:30. By then, Martin Adams and Cleve Schoening had reached the summit, while Biddleman and the other members of the Mountain Madness expedition had not yet reached the summit. Soon, according to the observations of the climbers, the weather began to deteriorate; at approximately 15:00 it began to snow and it became dark. Makalu Go reached the summit early at 16:00 and immediately noticed worsening weather conditions.
Scott Fisher did not reach the summit until 15:45, in poor physical condition, possibly due to altitude sickness, pulmonary edema and exhaustion from fatigue. It is unknown when Rob Hall and Doug Hansen reached the top. Adventure Consultants director Rob Hall remained in the area of the so-called Hillary Steps (8,790 m) where one of his clients, Doug Hansen, collapsed. Hall radioed the camp, where Andy Harris came to his aid.
More than a dozen participants in the ascent, having never reached Camp IV, wandered in a snowstorm, no longer counting on salvation. They huddled together, hoping to wait out the bad weather. As it turned out later, just 20 meters from them there was an abyss that they had not noticed, so the climbers were on the verge of death, literally and figuratively.
At this time, another drama was playing out in Camp IV. Anatoly Bukreev, moving from tent to tent, persuaded the climbers to come out to help people in trouble. The answer to him was silence - no one wanted to go to certain death. And then the Russian climber does the seemingly impossible - he goes alone with a supply of oxygen for the dying. Over the next few hours, Boukreev managed to discover and lead three completely exhausted, barely alive people to Camp IV - Charlotte Fox, Sandy Pittman and Tim Madsen.
Several more people from two groups managed to independently reach the camp when the snow storm subsided a little. At about five in the morning Rob Hall contacted the camp. He said Harris, who came out to help them, reached them but later disappeared. Doug Hansen has died. Hall himself could not cope with the iced-up oxygen tank regulator. Hall's body was discovered 12 hours later.
Sherpas who went out on May 11 to search for other missing climbers found Scott Fisher and Makalu Guo, the leader of the Taiwan expedition. Fischer was in serious condition and it was not possible to evacuate him, so the Sherpas took out only the Taiwanese, leaving the head of Mountain Madness in place. The last attempt to save his friend was made by Anatoly Boukreev, who managed to reach Fischer at approximately 19:00 on May 11, but by this time the climber was already dead.
In the soon-to-be-published book “Into Thin Air” (English: Into Thin Air, 1996) by the surviving member of the New Zealand expedition, correspondent for Outside magazine Jon Krakauer, Boukreev was, on the one hand, indirectly accused of being a guide expedition “Mountain Madness”, he began the descent from the mountain before everyone else, without waiting for his clients, and on the other hand, Krakauer confirmed that later, having learned about the plight of the lost and freezing clients, Anatoly alone, despite the snowstorm, left the camp in search of and personally saved three expedition clients. Boukreev demanded an apology from Krakauer, but the American refused to do so.
In 1997, the book “Ascent. Tragic ambitions on Everest,” in which Boukreev outlined his vision of the causes of the tragedy, in particular, naming, among others, the unpreparedness of both expeditions and the recklessness of their dead leaders, who, for a lot of money, took into the mountains poorly prepared and already middle-aged people who were not well suited for mountaineering. On this, Krakauer and Boukreev agreed with each other.
Many professional climbers also disagreed with the accusations against Boukreev. American climber Galen Rovell in his article spoke about Boukreev’s actions: “What he did has no analogues in the history of world mountaineering. The man, whom many call the “tiger of the Himalayas,” immediately after climbing without oxygen to the highest point of the planet without any help, saved freezing climbers for several hours in a row... To say that he was lucky means to underestimate what he accomplished. It was a real feat."
On December 6, 1997, the American Alpine Club awarded Boukreev the David Souls Award, given to climbers who saved people in the mountains at risk to their own lives, and the US Senate invited him to accept American citizenship.
After these tragic events, Boukreev summed it up in one of his interviews: “And in the West, after last year’s tragedy, I don’t like a lot, because people make big, crazy money on this, presenting events the way America wants, and not the way how it really was. Now Hollywood is making a film, I don’t know what they will make of me - with some kind of red star, with a flag in my hands - and how they will present it to American society - it is clear that it will be completely different.”
Annapurna - the last peak of Bukreev
Anatoly Bukreev was often considered a “loner” by nature, an individualist for his specific, reserved but honest manner of communication and for the number of solo mountain climbs that he made (he was the only one in the CIS who visited the peaks of Pobeda and Khan Tengri alone; he climbed solo on Lhotse, Shisha Pangma, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum II and other Himalayan eight-thousanders). However, Anatoly Boukreev helped everyone reach the top, even inexperienced amateurs or those who had nothing to do with mountains. Under his leadership, the first Indonesians, Danes and Brazilians climbed Everest.
Moro and Boukreev. The last photo together before climbing Annapurna
In the winter of 1997, Anatoly Boukreev planned an alpine-style winter climb to the Annapurna peak (8091) in the Himalayas. This was his 12th “eight-thousander”, the most dangerous among all - this is where people most often die during the ascent. At that time there was much more snow in the Himalayas than usual. The expedition members even endured the ascent. He walked in conjunction with his friend, the famous Italian climber Simone Moro. Moro conquered seven eight-thousand-meter peaks (Everest four times, Lhotse twice, Shishabangma both peaks, Cho Oyu, Broad Peak, and Makalu and Gasherbrum II in winter), making a total of 12 ascents of eight-thousand-meter peaks. The climbers were accompanied by Kazakh cameraman Dmitry Sobolev, who filmed the ascent.
On December 25, 1997, after the next trip to process the route, all three expedition members returned to the base camp for rest. While descending, a snow cornice above them collapsed, causing a sudden avalanche. This avalanche swept away all three. Moro, who walked last along the slope, was dragged about 800 m by the avalanche, he was injured, but survived and was able to independently reach the base camp and call for help. A rescue expedition from Almaty, consisting of four experienced climbers, flew out to search for the missing, but they were unable to find the bodies of Bukreev and Sobolev.
Linda Wiley and Antaliy Bukoreev
Having learned about the tragedy by phone from Moreau, Boukreev's friend, Linda Wiley, boarded a plane and flew to Nepal. She hired a helicopter and began to fly around the route: “Everything around was covered in snow, I have never seen so much snow. It was indescribable." The bodies were never found. A year later, Wiley organized another search expedition, but it also did not bring results. In 2007, on the Pioneer peak near Almaty above the Almatau tourist center, on the day of the 10th anniversary of Bukreev’s death, the mountaineering community installed a tripod with a bell and two cast-iron memorial plates: one with a name, the other with a prayer. The peak now bears the name of Bukreev. At the foot of Annapurna, the last unconquered peak of Anatoly Boukreev, Wiley erected a monument to her beloved - a traditional Buddhist stone pyramid. On the tablet is a phrase once dropped by Anatoly: “Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambitions, they are temples where I practice my religion.”
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Anatoly Nikolaevich Bukreev(January 16, Korkino, Chelyabinsk region, RSFSR, USSR - December 25, Annapurna, Himalayas, Nepal) - Soviet and Kazakh high-altitude climber. "Snow Leopard " (). Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (). He conquered 11 eight-thousanders of the planet out of 14, and made 21 ascents in total (a record for the CIS). He died during the assault on his 12th eight-thousander - Annapurna. Guide and consultant for climbing to high altitudes of 7-8 km, photographer, author of publications about ascents.
He was awarded the Soviet Order “For Personal Courage” (), the Kazakh medal “Erligi Ushin” (For Courage) () and the Russian Order “For Services to the Fatherland”, II degree ().
Biography
From the age of 12, he conquered the low hills of the Ural range around his native Korkino. As a student, he traveled to the south in the summer and climbed his first three- to four-thousand-meter peaks in the mountains of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
He spent less than 10 months on his last 6 eight-thousanders.
The best climbs in the USSR and USA
McKinley Peak in Alaska, USA
- 1987 - the first high-speed ascent in Soviet mountaineering to Lenin Peak along the northern slope from the base camp (4200 m) to the summit (7134 m) in 8 hours.
- Communism Peak from a height of 6600 m almost to the top (7400 m) in 1 hour 27 minutes - took first place in the selection of candidates for the Second Soviet Himalayan Expedition.
- 1987 - high-speed ascent of Elbrus from a height of 4200 m to 5200 m in 1 hour 07 minutes. - again first place among candidates for the Himalayan team.
- 1988 - for the first time, traverse the three peaks of Pobeda Peak (Western (6918) - Main (7439) - Eastern (7060)) and Military Topographers Peak (6873) in the Central Tien Shan as part of the USSR team during the preparation of the Himalayan expedition to Kanchenjunga.
- 1988/1989 - twice winner of the high-speed climb to Elbrus from the Shelter of Eleven (4200) to the Eastern Summit (5621), his best time is 1 hour 40 minutes.
- 1990 - in April and May, he twice climbed the world’s northernmost six-thousander McKinley (Denali, 6193 m) in Alaska along the Kassina Ridge and alone along the North Ridge (record climbing time from the beginning of the route to the summit is 10 hours 30 minutes), in 1993 year - for the third time with a seventy-year-old client.
- 1990 - in August, made the first high-speed solo ascent to Pobeda Peak (7439 m) from the glacier to the peak in 36 hours (in winter, in bad weather, I only reached a height of 7400 m), then the first high-speed solo ascent to Khan Tengri Peak (7010 m).
Twenty-one ascents of eight-thousanders
- 04/15/1989 - Kanchenjunga Srednyaya (8478 m, along the central couloir from the south without oxygen in the group of Valery Khrishchaty as part of the Second Soviet Himalayan expedition, led by Eduard Myslovsky).
- 04/30 - 05/01/1989 - Kanchenjunga (for the first time traverse all four peaks of Kanchenjunga: Yalung-Kang (8505) - Main (8586) - Middle (8478) - South (8491) with oxygen in the Bershov group).
- 05/10/1991 - Dhaulagiri (first ascent of the Western Face) as part of the First Kazakhstan Himalayan Expedition, led by. Kazbek Valiev.
- 10/07/1991 - Everest (classic from the south, as part of a Russian-American expedition, led by Vladimir Balyberdin).
Eight-thousander Cho Oyu in the Himalayas
In total, he made 21 ascents of eight-thousanders, including the traverse of the four peaks of Kanchenjunga, which is still a record for the CIS. Evgeny Vinogradsky (Ekaterinburg), who also completed this traverse, has 20 ascents (as of April 2010), as does Denis Urubko (as of February 2011).
Everest Conflict
Everest is the highest mountain in the world; Boukreev conquered it 4 times in the 1990s. On the right slope of the mountain is the snow-covered South Col
Bukreev's name was mentioned a lot in the Western press in connection with the disaster on Everest in May 1996. Then Boukreev was one of the guides of the American commercial expedition to Everest “Mountain Madness” (eng. Mountain Madness, hands Scott Fisher), which climbed next to the New Zealand, also commercial expedition “Adventure Consultants” (eng. Adventure Consultants, hands Rob Hall). Slowly climbing the mountain, 40-50-year-old amateur climbers, clients of both groups, who paid $65,000 each to climb Everest, did not have time to return to camp IV on the South Col at an altitude of 7900 m before dark and were caught in bad weather. In the soon-to-be-published book “Into Thin Air (Into Oblivion)” (eng. Into Thin Air, 1996), the surviving member of the New Zealand team, correspondent for Outside magazine Jon Krakauer, Boukreev was indirectly blamed for the tragedy because he started descending from the mountain before everyone else, did not use oxygen and was lightly dressed. Krakauer confirms that later, Anatoly alone came out with an oxygen cylinder from Camp IV to meet those descending and personally saved three of the frozen clients of his expedition - Sandra Pittman, Charlotte Fox and Timothy Madsen - by finding them in the blizzard and darkness of the night and leading them one by one to the tents. This is despite the fact that the team had three instructors and six Sherpas for every six clients. In the response book by Boukreev and Weston DeWalt, “The Ascent. Tragic Ambitions on Everest" The Climb, 1997) Anatoly stated that both expeditions were completely unprepared and the recklessness of their dead leaders. In this, Krakauer and Boukreev found themselves in a lie. In his book, Krakauer writes:
Due to the poor preparation of the route by the warring Sherpas, the poor physical condition of their sirdar Lopsang Yangbu and Fischer himself, and mainly due to the endless delays caused by the limitations of such participants as Sandy Pittman, Yasuko Namba and Doug Hansen, we moved forward slowly , and even the optimal weather conditions for Everest could not help us...
At 2 p.m., still no word from Fischer, Beidleman's boss. Right now - and not later! - Everyone should have started to descend, but this is not happening. Beidleman has no way to contact other team members. The porters carried upstairs a computer and a satellite communication device (on orders from Fisher for Sandra Pittman, who was pompously completing the Seven Summits program and putting pressure on Fisher, which were never useful - approx.), but neither Beidleman nor Boukreev had with you a simple intercom device that weighs almost nothing. This mistake subsequently cost clients and instructors dearly...
The outcome of the expeditions was as follows:
- On Scott Fischer’s expedition, only the ill Fischer himself died, frozen during the descent (his corpse was found a day later by Boukreev), and all six clients (also the Danish Lyn Gammelgaard and Klev Schöning, who were brought out by Beidleman), two instructors - Beidleman and Boukreev - and four Sherpas climbed to the top and returned alive.
- In Rob Hall's expedition, Hall himself and his old client Doug Hansen, who froze while descending from the peak, died, instructor Andy Harris, who returned to their aid from the South Summit, where he had already accompanied Krakauer, and client Yasuko Namba (47 years old), who fell behind group in pitch darkness and a snowstorm near Camp IV (Bukreev found her a year later and apologized to the Japanese for not being able to save her). Instructor Mike Groom, two Sherpas, and mountaineering journalist Jon Krakauer, who wrote a book about this tragedy, survived. Also alive was client Beck Weathers (50 years old), who was twice left on the side of a mountain, believed to be frozen, but he survived, remained disabled and later wrote the book “Left to Die” (eng. Left for Dead, 2000).
It is noteworthy that journalist Krakauer, from the Rob Hall expedition, wrote this book both about the failure of his team and about another expedition - Scott Fisher, all of whose clients climbed the mountain and remained alive, although Scott Fisher himself died. “All of Boukreev’s clients returned home practically healthy, without serious injuries, while the dead or injured climbers belonged to the same expedition as Jon Krakauer
Annapurna
Accident
Anatoly Boukreev died on December 25, 1997 in an avalanche together with Kazakh cameraman Dmitry Sobolev during the winter ascent of his 12th eight-thousander Annapurna, accompanying the famous climber from Italy Simone Moro. At an altitude of 6000 m, Boukreev and Moreau installed a railing, and when, having untied themselves, they began to descend to the base camp for rest, accompanied by Sobolev’s camera, a snow cornice suddenly collapsed above them, which led to a sudden avalanche. The climbers were swept away from the mountain, Simone Moro miraculously survived, having traveled with an avalanche to Camp I at an altitude of 5500 m. With injuries to his head and hands, he managed to reach the base camp and report the disaster. A rescue expedition from Almaty, consisting of four experienced climbers, flew out to search for the missing, but they could not find Bukreev and Sobolev. In March 1998, Simone Moro and Rinat Khaibullin repeated the search, but to no avail.
Latest message received from Boukreev:
“12/18/97 Today we descended to a height of 1760 m to a village with hot springs to rest. The weather was unusual for Nepal for two weeks. It was covered with more than 3.5 meters of snow. We dug up tents and trampled the path to ABC. We lost two tents. Tomorrow we return up to base camp. We will try to climb until January 16, after which I hope to fly to Alma-Ata. From February 5th I have an invitation to Iran and then to America. Anatoly"
Five years later, Simone Moro wrote a book about Boukreev and this ascent, “Comet over Annapurna” (Cometa sull’Annapurna, Corbaccio editore, Milano, 2003), which went through 7 editions in Italy and was republished in Spanish and Polish.
Anatoly Bukreev is a domestic climber, also known as a writer, photographer and guide. In 1985, he won the title “Snow Leopard” and conquered eleven 8,000-meter peaks on the planet, making a total of eighteen ascents on them. He was repeatedly awarded various orders and medals for his courage. In 1997, he received the David Souls Club Award, which is awarded to climbers who have saved people in the mountains at the cost of their own lives. In the same year, he died while climbing the Annapurna peak together with cameraman Dmitry Sobolev during an avalanche.
Biography of the climber
Anatoly Bukreev was born in 1958 in the small town of Korkino in the Chelyabinsk region. I started dreaming about climbing mountains when I was still in school. At the age of 12 I became interested in mountaineering. He made his first ascents in the Urals.
In 1979, Anatoly Bukreev became a graduate of the State Pedagogical Institute in Chelyabinsk. He received a specialty as a physics teacher, and at the same time also received a diploma as a ski coach. It was during his student years that he made his first ascent to the mountains and conquered the Tien Shan.
Job
In 1981, Anatoly Bukreev moved to Kazakhstan, where he settled near Almaty. The hero of our article begins to work at a children's and youth sports school as a ski coach. Over time, he becomes a mountain instructor in the CSKA sports society. When the Soviet Union collapsed, he decided to stay in Kazakhstan rather than return to Russia, receiving citizenship of this particular republic.
As part of the Kazakhstan mountaineering team, Anatoly Boukreev, whose photo is in this article, climbed the seven-thousanders of the Pamirs. In 1989, he became part of the Second Soviet Himalayan Expedition, led by Eduard Myslovsky. Its participants conquered in one go the traverse of all four peaks of the Kanchenjunga massif, ranging in height from 8,494 to 8,586 meters.
For this outstanding achievement, climber Anatoly Bukreev was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, as well as an international master of sports. In addition, he was awarded the Order "For Personal Courage".
In 1990, the hero of our article goes to the USA to conquer Mount McKinley, 6,190 meters high, located in Alaska. As a result, he climbs it twice: first as part of a group, and then along the so-called western edge alone.
To the Himalayas
In 1991, climber Anatoly Boukreev was invited to represent Kazakhstan at the First Expedition to the Himalayas. In the autumn of the same year, he climbs to the top of Dhaulagiri, which is 8,167 meters above sea level. Then the highest point on the planet is also conquered by Anatoly Boukreev - Everest, whose height, according to official data, is 8,848 meters. He will climb this peak three more times in his life. In the Himalayas, he becomes a guide and high-altitude escort, hired by all kinds of expeditions for professional consultations.
President of Kazakhstan
The biography of Anatoly Mitrofanovich Bukreev also contains a unique experience of climbing mountain peaks in the company of the president of the state. It was he who was chosen as an accompanying and personal guide by the Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev when he went to Alatau. When climbing Abai Peak, whose height is 4,010 meters above sea level, Bukreev personally accompanied Nazarbayev throughout the entire route.
This action was timed to coincide with the mass alpiniad; it took place in the summer of 1995. In the same year, Russian climber Anatoly Boukreev goes on two expeditions to the Himalayas. In them, athletes set themselves an ambitious goal: to conquer all peaks whose height exceeds eight kilometers.
Anatoly Boukreev makes new ascents on Cho Oyu and Manaslu, which he has never been to before. Alone, he climbs Lhotse, then Shisha Pangma, and finally Broad Peak. As a result of this voyage, Boukreev actually becomes one of the most famous, strong and talented climbers on the entire planet.
Everest tragedy in 1996
In May 1996, Bukreev's name regularly appears in the Western media in connection with the tragedy that happened on Everest. Today, the events that took place there, at least one of the versions, are well known thanks to the dramatic disaster film Everest by Baltasar Kormakur, which was released in 2015. You can also meet the hero of our article there, played by Icelandic actor Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson.
As you know, in 1996, it was Boukreev who was one of the guides as part of an American commercial expedition, which was organized by a company under the original name “Mountain Madness”. They were led by Scott Fisher.
The company was organizing an ascent to the top of Everest for its clients, who paid quite a lot of money for this. As it turned out later, simultaneously with Fisher’s expedition, which included Boukreev, a New Zealand commercial expedition of a company called “Adventure Consultants” also went to the summit. It was led by the famous New Zealand mountaineer Rob Hall.
During the work of both companies, a number of organizational and tactical miscalculations were made, which led to the fact that some clients of both groups, as well as their leaders, did not have time to return to the assault camp after conquering the peak before dark. The camp itself was located at an altitude of approximately 7,900 meters above sea level on the South Col. At night, the weather deteriorated greatly, which led to the death of eight climbers, including Fischer and Hall, and two more people were injured.
There were controversial, often contradictory opinions about Bukreev’s role in this expedition. In particular, one of the New Zealand members of the expedition named Jon Krakauer, who was a journalist and managed to survive during that conquest of Everest, indirectly accused the hero of our article of starting the descent from the mountain before everyone else, without waiting for his clients. Although Bukreev was their guide, which means he had to accompany them at all stages of the journey.
At the same time, Krakauer stated that later, having learned that the expedition members were in a catastrophic situation, it was Boukreev who went alone in search of freezing and lost clients, despite the blizzard that had begun. Anatoly managed to save three members of the expedition; in the middle of the night he dragged them to the tents of the assault camp right during a snowstorm.
At the same time, Bukreev was still accused that, by going to the rescue of the victims, he saved his clients without providing assistance to the Japanese Yasuko Namba, who was from a different group, but her condition raised more serious concerns.
Bukreev's version
In 1997, it became known that the hero of our article was not only a talented climber, but also a writer. In co-authorship with Weston De Walt, Anatoly Boukreev’s book “The Ascension” is published. In it, he outlined his own vision of the causes of the tragedy, describing everything that happened from his point of view.
For example, in this book, Anatoly Bukreev states that one of the reasons for the death of some of the expedition members was unsatisfactory preparation, as well as the recklessness of both dead leaders. Although they were professional climbers, their actions did not correspond to the conditions in which they found themselves.
For example, in this book, also known as “Everest. The Deadly Climb,” Anatoly Boukreev stated that for a lot of money, ill-prepared and elderly people who did not have the proper experience to make such a difficult and dangerous transition were taken on the expedition. In this, by the way, Boukreev and Krakauer do not contradict each other, insisting that it was unprofessionalism and poor physical preparation that caused the death of so many people. Immediately after its release, Anatoly Boukreev’s book “Deadly Ascent” became a bestseller. Like Krakauer’s work, it was published several times in Russian.
You can get a full impression of what was happening on Everest at that time based on the book by the American actor and climber Matt Dickinson. During these same days, he was on the northern side of Everest, but he did not take direct part in the affected expeditions.
Victims
Eight people died in the Everest tragedy. From Adventure Consultants they were:
- Expedition leader Rob Hall from New Zealand, who died on the South Slope due to radiation exposure, hypothermia and frostbite.
- Guide Andrey Harris from New Zealand. Death occurred on the Southeast Ridge, presumably from a fall on the descent.
- Client Doug Hansen from the USA. He died on the Southern slope, most likely falling during the descent.
- Yasuko Namba from Japan. Died on the South Col due to external influences.
From the Mountain Madness company, only the leader, American Scott Fischer, died.
Also killed were three members of the Indo-Tibetan Border Guard Force: Corporal Dorje Morup, Sergeant Tsewang Samanla and Senior Constable Tsewang Paljor. They all died on the Northeast Ridge due to frostbite and radiation exposure.
Consequences of the tragedy
In early December 1997, Boukreev was awarded the David Solus Prize, which is awarded to climbers who saved people in the mountains, risking their own lives. This award is presented by the American Alpine Club. Anatoly’s courage and heroism was even appreciated by the US Senate, which offered him, if he wished, to obtain American citizenship.
In 1997, the first film dedicated to the events that took place on Everest was released. It was a film by American director Robert Markowitz entitled “Death in the Mountains: Death on Everest.” Markowitz filmed it based on Krakauer's book, without paying attention to other existing sources. The film caused mixed reviews among professional climbers, as well as viewers and film critics.
Last ascent
In the winter of 1997-1998, Boukreev planned to climb the Annapurna peak, 8,078 meters above sea level. He set out to conquer it together with climber Simone Moro from Italy. They were accompanied by Kazakh cameraman Dmitry Sobolev, who meticulously recorded all stages of the ascent on a video camera.
On December 25, 1997, the expedition members made another trip to rework the route. All three, having completed the necessary work, returned to rest at base camp. During the descent, a snow cornice collapsed on them, which provoked a sudden snow avalanche of great power. In an instant, she swept away all three members of the expedition.
The Italian Moro, who was the last in the team, managed to survive. The avalanche dragged him about 800 meters, he was seriously injured, but managed to get to the base camp on his own to call for help. Sobolev and Bukreev died on the spot.
A rescue expedition from Almaty was sent to search for them. It included four professional climbers, but they failed to find the bodies of Sobolev and Bukreev. In the spring of 1998, climbers repeated the search operation in the same area, hoping to find the dead and bury them, but this time everything ended in vain.
The materials that Sobolev managed to film were included in a 40-minute film about Bukreev in 2002 called “The Unconquered Peak.”
Memory of a climber
In Kazakhstan, the climber was posthumously awarded the medal "For Courage", including in the list of the country's best athletes in the 20th century.
Not much is known about Boukreev’s personal life, but he had a girlfriend - public figure and doctor from the USA Linda Wiley. She took Anatoly’s death hard. It was on her initiative that a stone pyramid in the traditional Buddhist style was erected at the foot of Annapurna. On it is written a phrase that Boukreev himself once said, explaining why he took up mountaineering, why mountains attract him:
Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambitions, they are temples where I practice my religion.
In 1999, Wiley became the founder of the Boukreev Memorial Fund, which helps young climbers from Kazakhstan conquer McKinley Peak, located in the US territory of Alaska. With the help of the same fund, young Americans have the opportunity to go to the northernmost seven-thousander on the planet - Khan Tengri in the Tien Shan system in Kazakhstan. This is not only helping novice athletes, but also developing relations between the two countries.
For example, in 2000, Bukreev’s foundation became the main sponsor of the American-Kazakh expedition that set off to conquer the Himalayas. It was with her that the career of the most famous modern Kazakh climber Maksut Zhumaev began, who became the second person in the territory of the former USSR to conquer all fourteen 8-thousand-meter peaks.
Wiley herself published the book “Above the Clouds. Diaries of a High Alpinist,” in which she collected entries from mountain journals and the diaries of Boukreev himself, made from 1989 to 1997. The book is equipped with a large number of photographs of the hero of our article.
In 2003, Italian climber Simone Moro, who survived an avalanche, wrote the book “Comet Over Annapurna.”
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