Rather, they have recently met. Icy, unapproachable, he surrendered the fortress, opened on 10 minutes, stone embrace. True, not even allowed to bring a camera to film it in a moment of weakness ...
"6310 m" - growled the altimeter on the clock. Valery stood on the highest point of the peak. To the right preparing to attack the black clouds of snow, the sun shone on the left - and no nails! ... "Mountain - a kind of active meditation, or purification through physical hardship, - but hardly our hero, purified and enlightened, in those moments was aware of it. The goal was achieved. All thoughts, limiting concentration on the route retreated, giving the place of weariness. He stood there, got in touch with a partner, Igor, who was on duty in high-altitude base camp somewhere very bottom at around 4000 m and blurted out the good news: - I'll try to get closer to the precipice, so that you could see me! - Do not do it! - I still really want to look down the cliff! - DO NOT! ..
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Valery Babanov: The camera was just below 150 meters from the top of the peak. As I stood at the top, I really wanted to shoot a few frames. Finally! I'm here! But then some inner voice, intuition (the voice of God! ") Prompted me:" Do not get down now! ". If you go, then the back has not come back. Gore seemed opened to me a few minutes of the corridor and allowed to stay on it for a while ... very short time. According to legend shark fins, leading to the peak of Meru - a road to the Center of the Universe. Over the past few years there have been about 15 attempts to reach the coveted top, but they all failed. Only a famous American climber Peter Takeda tried "ride" Shark's fin is threefold: the last one was this spring (at the same time and Valeri was doing his first attempt), but the mountain once again did not let him. More than three attempts will not put. Takeda and tried to forget about it. VB: We sent him a letter as soon as I descended. It has been almost two weeks. So far, no response from Peter, even though we where with him and his partner this spring with storm peak, very good friends. Perhaps only one could "miss" measure. But all these expeditions - there were so many. Some tried to take it one fell swoop, while others starve. But all as a result of retreating. Every time climbed to 4 - 6 people ... And it could take, as I now think of only one. Valery, of course, did not say "elected". But it turns out he is elected. Work on the route of such complexity requires unfathomable to the average person a concentration, perseverance and, necessarily, a great experience. We must live in the mountains, to own such a technique of movement, so to feel them to be able to talk to them. He spent 25 years of his 36, "working routes. His "experience, the son of hard errors" had been raised and brought up 200 expeditions. VB: Of course, I became a solo climber at once, somehow gradually came to this. The fact that the team I do not feel too comfortable, I do not have freedom of decisions and actions, I can not improvise on the fly. And then somehow I got used to count only on themselves. In my opinion, it is quite logical. Itself, one can predict itself can be trusted or not trusted in certain situations. In the team scheme is much more complicated. Olga Gorbonosova (HPCru): So you actually simpler and easier to work on one route? VB: Of course, otherwise I would have been the man command. OG: This time it's easier dalas this mountain? VB: That's not to say. Generally, the bigger the mountain, so it is more expensive. In all senses: the harder given, and the more expensive it cost to rent a corridor on her. OG: So you paid for each meter? VB: No, of course. If the mountain in India is higher than 6500 m, it is more expensive.My top came up under this tariff. She was a little lower. At least according to my measurements. By my watch. OG: Is it possible to believe in your watch? VB: And why not? We have already checked them in France, and they have not sinned. Valerín hand decorated with smart watches Protrek, gigantic size, given to him by the French association of mountain sports, where he works as a coach. It seems that they can settle the cuckoo !:-)) What they just do not know how and what properties does not only possess, except that the coffee is brewed !:-))
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Most of Valerín route ran along the ridge. VB: I went to the back side of the mountain wall, two meters away from the comb, and if you draw a route on this picture, it will be dashed. :-)
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The place to which I got, not entirely a high point. The highest - it snow cornice, it was up to five meters. If it stand, it could collapse. Where I stood, was not visible base of the mountain, the wall slowly go down somewhere in the distance gleamed Glacier, 2 miles below me. And I wanted to Igor saw me on top and was headed to show off the ledge. But he was dissuaded, saying that the ledge could collapse, and the Spaniards I've seen. At this time the measure intended to storm still two whole expedition Spanish and Japanese. Valery had arrived, and perhaps this fact as the highest impact on the decision to allow the Office of the heavenly possessed by the idea of holy svyatyhJ. During the ascent the weather was unusually nice and warning. VB: On the ascent took me 6 days. During this period, I almost did not rest, except sleep, and slept little, began to operate the route at night, hours are 3-4, so we have a long throws. Afternoon light your support. If you start in the morning, then finish the evening for sure. Can not see anything, tired. At night, the weather is more stable. But the cold and scary, shoes like tin cans on your feet hang peremorozhennye ...
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Valera bit stingy on the words and a very benevolent at the same time, so we must try to grasp his thinking on the fly. Sometimes you catch ... This man is damn infectious and somehow child-like laugh. Adult child who is not afraid to dream. Himself a magician. For the type of fragile, low, but the extraordinary strength lives in his trained body. And still he needed the insurance, the feeling, if not firmly under their feet, then to the outside world. At least on the radio. Need to have someone waiting at the bottom. This time - partner Igor, in the past - his wife, Olga. And, of course, letters from home. VB: Igor gave them to me directly by radio. For all 6 days I have been in touch with Igor. The day came during the ascent of 2-3 letters. As a rule, from the closest people. During my recovery Kaskiv not only supported me in a moral sense, getting my mail, but my companion. He has a strong toothache, he was tired of the order of seats in the camp in a tent and had already begun to ask home, suddenly found himself a pleasure. Toys on the Pocket PC. At this time, before climbing high-altitude base camp visited HPCru correspondent Andrey Kuznetsov, who debug the PDA, so much so that he began to regularly take even a remote mail. In addition, Andrew has brought a solar panel, which quickly managed to feed the voracious color handheld. Good, and the weather was sunny, very convenient for feeding :-). O.G.: The last time the Americans you were named Russian James Bond for such technical equipment of the expedition, as well as this time responded to the handheld computer and satellite phone Spanish and Japanese climbers? VB: Well, most of all, of course, surprised the Japanese. Especially because they have something other than the receiver was nothing. Two days later they came to me to send mail and receive letters from home and very happy this opportunity, and then we went on the routes. OG: And you had the feeling that all will turn out? VB: Yes, of course. I've programmed yourself for success. Firstly, to calculate precisely the time that I needed, changed the route. Yes, indeed for the very top, not the route I'm doing it. Painfully attractive and difficult it is! She draws you like, makes up for it. And then on top of one was not. But the way to the top seem easier than it really is. Knowingly array measure called the center of the universe. While Shamballa I did not find :-)). OG: And to us at the last your letter seemed to have found ... :-)) VB: Just me overwhelmed emotions, feelings. I re-lived all the climbing. When the top 200 meters left, I remembered that I forgot the camera in a backpack, but decided not to return. I had a feeling that I came to clean the mountain, and must be absolutely clean. Two kilometers from Meru were black clouds. It seemed to me that they seem frozen, missing me, so time to return was not. I overcame a 15-minute firn slope and ended up on top ... ... Valery stayed on top in just 10 minutes. Not more - not less. He again some inner flair caught the moment when we should leave. The audience was over. No sooner had he a little satellite, as the sun disappeared, and one after another ran the clouds, forming a black canopy over the crown of the measure. Gore was tired of his visitor, she was going to sleep ... Yes, and the day was coming to an end and our hero had time to reach his home - a small mobile platform, left at the bottom. The next day, Valery was already in high-altitude base camp with his friend and wrote us the latest on this expedition letter ... VB: first sat down to write out of duty, but then got so carried away as if anew all survived. It was very important to my friends learned everything as quickly as possible on myself, I was eager to record all his experiences right there on the spot, at the foot of Meru. I already knew it, I saw a neighborhood with its top part of my soul will always remain with her. When Valery wrote a final letter, he discovered that the screen is Kaskiv few suffered from emotional injuries from the stylus. At the bottom clearly look through the point-target, the appropriate shaped as letters virutalnoy keyboard, so much so that you can blindly, with the screen off, learn to type on it :-).
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