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Mountain events and news
The price of human life.
20-05-2010
The price of human life.
Sergei Duganov, died on Lhotse.
I write this message not because of but in spite of. I like mountaineering, it is not only sport but style of life and I cannot imagine my life without it but it is painfully!
When a friend of yours dies you are on the verge of despair, you can not breeze, you can not go on living, you hardly understand the tragic loss.
Then you start to understand that it was happened and you have lost forever, it is your fault, you haven"t been near your friend, you cannot return back.
Sergey, do you remember my answer to your question on the Polish rout to Mt.Acancagua: "Anatoly, we untied but what about belay?". My honest answer was: "Belay yourself by icebal and please be careful because ice hook does not hold good now. It is your personal problem. Here every body takes care about himself. If you fall down nobody will accuse you of having involved someone else.."
Rigidity of chain! Nowadays it is the famous word among young climbers. I do not want such a thing and extreme at all or when money decides all problems or when you are invited to take part.
Who invites for and what for? Is it for your experience, your ability or your beautiful eyes? I would like to say about the most important thing - about Human life.
It is clear for everyone: no money - no trip, no trip - no accent, no accent - no popularity, you are not well-known, you are not well-known - nobody will invite you..
This is locked circle. That is why people in such cases are very careless about the most important points during their climbing: about their safety, medicine, oxygen for the medical purposes, expedition doctor, radio communication.
Further it is Vladimir Belous quotation
"In the evening Sergey felt himself bad. He said he had no enough air. We had no special medicine for such a problem. We had no oxygen too..."
Why? There was no emergency kid for high altitude allowing to cut off this situation?
We had to put question "why" before climbing but not after it. The doctor should have had an experience of high altitude expedition. More over the guys being near Sergey were highly experienced in mountaineering competent in the solution of such kind of problem.
"Then it seems everything had passed with him, we opened everything we could in the tent, though the night at this altitude and after hardworking day passed unclamps for all of us..."
I understand everybody was with his own problems, only own, but..
"Since the early we started getting ready for ascent, getting dressed and warming water. Sergey was too slow all the time. At last we went out of the tent all together and I tried to help him to put on his crampons. Looking into his eyes I saw that the situation was bad and very serious and it was necessary to look for oxygen. Bolotov went out and began helping Sergey. I myself put on my crampons and belay system and climbed up as soon as I could.
50 or 60 meters higher there was a tent belonging to Pavlenko or somebody else. I tried to find oxygen, a mask and a regulator there. In the tent there were 3 or 4 bottles of oxygen but there was no any masks or regulators..."
Guys! Where were your med oxygen with a mask and a regulator. As I understand you never thought about it. May be there was no enough money or your leader hadn.t had instructed you. Or were you for the first time at the altitude of 8000 or .
"I ran downward. Next to us there was one tent more but locked and sealed. Understanding how serious the situation was I cut the entrance, and then I cut the pack. Inside there were only 5 bottles of oxygen but there were neither masks nor regulators.
This time Sergey with Alexey"s help put on his crampons, belayed to the fixed rope and having made two steps fell with his head down and hung on foxed rope.
At this moment Nikolai and Gena started helping Alexey to get him up and made him artificial breezing..."
So, no medic kid, no oxygen, no insurance, nothing to provide his family with in such a .foolish. mortal case. Then what for and for whom is such a climbing?
"200 meters downward I saw Sherpa.s going by the Everest path. I cried to Alex I will ask them about the regulator and mask. Unfortunately they had only oxygen without mask or regulator. I said them that my friend is dying. They understood the situation could not help me. A few minutes later Alex shouted to me from above and showed me crossed arms. I tried to come up to them I was powerless and felt on the snow without no strength. I was not luck of professionalism, not for the first 8000 meters expedition behind me..."
The questions are who or what divided Sergey Duganov from his daily life, from 3 children? May be wild air or a windy noise or the snow whispering around the tent or it was the fate of the Himalai, which divides people into two parts? One of them who had been there and did not find there anything particular and another who says: "I have been there! I am going there again and it there is no possibility to get there I will create such a possibility!".
But it is not important. What is important? Is it death or life? To die in the city from an accident or from an old age but in the mountains.
The main problem is who and what is important. A professional guide with a medical kid carrying his professional duties? The guides who work for money? How much does your life cost? Or your health? Or your treatment or temporal invalidity? The question is was it better when alpinism instructor in the former Soviet Union working in a factory or anywhere else went climbing only for a month guiding people in the mountains? Now it is a criminal case.
It is professionals who are responsible for climbing security and who are work permanently and are guides professionals, who are promised by the Russian Alpinism Federation.
Returning to reality:
People going to the mountains must be informed:
- going to the mountains is a very dangerous for your life and health;
- planning your trip to the mountains you must know in whose hands your life is (whom you trust your life);
- -a medical insurance special for extreme cases;
- -medical care - a med emergency kid;
- a satellite and radio connection to survive.
- It is your choice - to go or not to go! I respect your choice but don"t forget your children and family. It is all, of course, very emotional because of this tragic accident, while all this requires to go on thinking and working on this very serious for our life"s problems if it is indifferent to you.
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