| Anatoli Boukreev | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 16, 1958 Korkino, Chelyabinsk Oblast |
| Died | December 25, 1997 (aged 39) Annapurna I, Nepal |
| Cause of death | Avalanche |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Education | Bachelor of Science |
| Alma mater | Chelyabinsk University |
| Occupation | Mountaineer |
| Known for | 18 ascents on 8,000 metre peaks |
Anatoli Nikoliavich Boukreev, Russian: Анато́лий Никола́евич Букре́ев, (January 16, 1958 – December 25, 1997) was a Kazakhstani (USSR/Kazakhstan) climber who made ascents of seven of the 8,000 metre peaks without supplemental oxygen. In total he made 18 successful ascents on peaks above 8000 m (1989 – 1997). Boukreev was lost under an avalanche on Annapurna. The direct transliteration of his Russian name is Anatolij Nikolaevich Bukreev.
Boukreev was relatively unknown, though well accomplished, in the international climbing community until the 1996 spring climbing season on Mount Everest, when eight people died in one of the biggest tragedies in the climbing history of Mount Everest. The event was chronicled in the best-selling books Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and The Climb by Boukreev (among others).
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Boukreev was born on January 16, 1958 in Korkino, U.S.S.R in the Chelyabinsk Oblast. After completing high school in 1975, he attended Chelyabinsk University for Pedagogy in the Russian SFSR, where he majored in physics and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1979. At the same time, he also completed a coaching program for cross-country skiing.
After graduation, the 21-year-old dreamed of real mountains. Boukreev moved to Alma-Ata, the capital of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic located at ridge Tian Shan. Since 1985 supporting a combined team of Kazakhstan on mountaineering, in 1991 after the breakup of the USSR he accepted Kazakhstan Republic citizenship.
The major highlights of Boukreev's climbing career are as follows:
Boukreev became widely known as the lead climbing guide for the Mountain Madness expedition headed by Scott Fischer in May 1996. The expedition was one of several attempting to summit Everest on the same day (May 10th). On May 11 eight climbers from several expeditions perished due to a disastrous blizzard. Boukreev rescued three climbers stranded in the disaster above 8000 m, and indeed all six of the climbing clients on the Mountain Madness expedition survived the ordeal.
Some have described his rescue efforts as:
| “ | One of the most amazing rescues in mountaineering history performed single-handedly a few hours after climbing Everest without oxygen by a man some describe as the Leonidas of Himalayan climbing.[1] | ” |
Others were much more critical. Jon Krakauer described his behavior on the day of the disaster as "extremely unorthodox" and claimed that he "cut and ran ... when it mattered most".
At the core of controversy was Boukreev's decision to attempt the summit without supplementary oxygen (which Krakauer saw as irresponsible for a guide) and to descend to the camp ahead of his clients in the face of approaching darkness and blizzard. He was one of the first to reach the summit on the day of the disaster, and he was back at his tent at 5 PM on May 10th, hours ahead of anybody else in his team. Boukreev's supporters point to the fact that his early arrival allowed him enough rest and that, when the blizzard had subsided around midnight, he was able to mount a rescue attempt and to lead several climbers still stranded on the mountain back to the safety of the camp.
In the winter of 1997, Boukreev was attempting to climb the south face of Annapurna I (8,091 m/26,545 ft) along with Simone Moro, an accomplished Italian mountaineer. They were accompanied by Dimitri Sobolev, a cinematographer from Kazakhstan, who was documenting the attempt. On December 25 around noon, Boukreev and Moro were fixing ropes in a couloir at around the 5,700 m (18,700 ft) level. Suddenly, a cornice broke loose from a ridge not visible from the climbing route. The resulting avalanche knocked Moro down the mountain where he landed just above their tent at Camp I 5,200 m (17,100 ft). Fortuitously, Moro had somehow stayed near the top of the avalanche debris and managed to dig himself out after a few minutes. Unable to see or hear any signs of Boukreev or Sobolev, Moro descended to Annapurna base camp where he was flown by helicopter back to Kathmandu for surgery on his hands, which had been ripped down to the tendons during the fall.
News of the accident reached New Mexico on December 26. Linda Wylie, Boukreev's girlfriend, left for Nepal on December 28. Several attempts were made to reach the avalanche site by helicopter but inclement weather in late December prevented search teams from reaching Camp I. There was some hope that perhaps Boukreev and Sobolev had managed to reach Camp I. However, on January 3, 1998, searchers were finally able to reach Camp I and an empty tent. Linda Wylie subsequently issued a somber statement from Kathmandu:
| “ | This is the end... there are no hopes of finding him alive. | ” |
At the site of Annapurna base-camp there is a memorial chorten to Boukreev including a quotation of his:
| “ | Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion...I go to them as humans go to worship. From their lofty summits I view my past, dream of the future and, with an unusual acuity, am allowed to experience the present moment...my vision cleared, my strength renewed. In the mountains I celebrate creation. On each journey I am reborn. | ” |
