Pik Olympia, Tien Shan, Kirghizstan. The UIAA
P ik Olympia, Tien Shan, Kirghizstan. The U IA A (International U nion o f Alpine A ssociations), w hich represents 77 m ountaineering associations w orld-
w ide, celebrated in 1994 the 100th anniversary o f the O lym pic m ovem ent. One o f its youngest m em bers, the Federation o f A lpinism and R ock C lim bing o f the Republic o f K irghizstan organized for officials o f the U IAA an expedition to a virgin peak, later nam ed Pik O lym pia (5026 m eters, 16,490 feet). The follow ing countries participated: A ustria, France, G eorgia, Iran, K irghizstan, the N ether lands, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sw itzerland, Turkey and Ukraine. At 10:30 A.M . on A ugust 7, from A dvance Base, we could follow with binoculars U krainian Ivan H arinyak, Frenchm an Louis Volle, Russian V ladim ir Shataev, G eorgians Lev Sarkisov and Zurab K uchava and K irghiz V ladim ir K om m issarov struggling w ith the crux. They had spent the night in a snow cave with little food and liquid. Coincidentally, they had all the vodka with them , thus leaving us only tea to celebrate the united officials’ clim b on the previous day. That day, m ost o f us had reached the ridge after w hich alm ost all decided to descend. It was snow ing again and so the chances o f the sum m it for us in A dvance B ase w ere nil. O ur hopes were fixed on the six, w ho reached the sum m it som e three hours later. Pik O lym pia is on the long north-south ridge w hich from Pik N ehru on the w est ridge o f Pik Pobiedy rises betw een the Diki and Proletarski Tourist G laciers on the left bank o f the South Inylchek Glacier. [Excerpted from the Q uarterly Bulletin o f the UIAA, N° 147, Septem ber 1994.] R
enee
H
opster,
N ederlandse K lim en B ergsport B ond
w ide, celebrated in 1994 the 100th anniversary o f the O lym pic m ovem ent. One o f its youngest m em bers, the Federation o f A lpinism and R ock C lim bing o f the Republic o f K irghizstan organized for officials o f the U IAA an expedition to a virgin peak, later nam ed Pik O lym pia (5026 m eters, 16,490 feet). The follow ing countries participated: A ustria, France, G eorgia, Iran, K irghizstan, the N ether lands, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sw itzerland, Turkey and Ukraine. At 10:30 A.M . on A ugust 7, from A dvance Base, we could follow with binoculars U krainian Ivan H arinyak, Frenchm an Louis Volle, Russian V ladim ir Shataev, G eorgians Lev Sarkisov and Zurab K uchava and K irghiz V ladim ir K om m issarov struggling w ith the crux. They had spent the night in a snow cave with little food and liquid. Coincidentally, they had all the vodka with them , thus leaving us only tea to celebrate the united officials’ clim b on the previous day. That day, m ost o f us had reached the ridge after w hich alm ost all decided to descend. It was snow ing again and so the chances o f the sum m it for us in A dvance B ase w ere nil. O ur hopes were fixed on the six, w ho reached the sum m it som e three hours later. Pik O lym pia is on the long north-south ridge w hich from Pik N ehru on the w est ridge o f Pik Pobiedy rises betw een the Diki and Proletarski Tourist G laciers on the left bank o f the South Inylchek Glacier. [Excerpted from the Q uarterly Bulletin o f the UIAA, N° 147, Septem ber 1994.] R
enee
H
opster,
N ederlandse K lim en B ergsport B ond
