I avoided a lot of good possibilities to lead a good civil life: Denis Urubko after his Farewell Expedition on 8k

As Winter 2020 is officially over in February, at least, according to Denis Urubko’s Winter Calendar, it arguably marks the end of ‘Urubko Era’ - an era that symbolizes the quintessence of alpinism above 8000ers. With no summit to Broad Peak this Winter, Urubko sat ruminating with Dream Wanderlust, contemplating his course of actions during his much-talked-about farewell expedition.

22-expedition old Denis, all oxygen-less on 8000ers, engaged in a tête-à-tête with us on why descending to the Base Camp was a spot-on assessment, and most decisively, how he survived the fatal crevasse-fall. “Just in case of a sudden imbalance under the kicks of wind, it would have been a very deep fall down the crevasse at 7650m,” he recalls.

On his last attempt on 17th February, he slid down 150m, prompted by an avalanche while climbing with severe frostbites and injuries. This comes after one of his climbing partners (Don Bowie) fell dreadfully ill, having to leave Denis unaccompanied at the foothills of the Gasherbrum Massif. Staying faithful to the ethos of extreme alpinism, Denis did not step back from conducting an unexpected solo expedition.

Had it been a successful summit, it would have been his 2nd Winter summit in the Karakorum after Gasherbrum II in 2011. He also made two first Winter summits on Makalu and Gasherbrum II in 2009 and 2011 respectively. Amongst his ten successful summits on Karakorum’s 8000ers, he opened two new routes; one on Broad Peak in 2005, another on Gasherbrum II in 2019, both in summer.

Climbing Everest, in the millennium year, marks the beginning of his career on 8000er. Three years later, not only did he climb Broad Peak in the summer of 2003, but also, via a new route of South West Face in the summer of 2005 with Serguey Samoilov.

Despite another first Winter ascent on Broad Peak was made by Artur Malek, Adam Bielecki, Maciej Berbeka and Tomasz Kowalski on 5th March, 2013, Denis sternly believes that the Winter calendar ends in February. Though he returned home with no summit, he enunciates his pondering thoughts on rock-climbing in near future, giving his wisdom back to the youth, and writing a new book on his climbing career, spanning 31 years.

Interview with Denis Urubko

DW: Your teammates having to leave, an avalanche, a broken rope, and lastly, the wind. All unexpected and unfortunate accidents. But was it just the "wind" that finally stopped you?

Denis: Accidents were expected. I have enough experience to overcome that part, act despite the risky condition, and survive finally. Every game is detail-oriented. Sometimes, even if it is not, just following the complexity of it can give you the final result which is very important for me. That is why I am sad about the Broad Peak expedition. Now starts the rock-climbing, it gives me a specific warm pleasure.

Last Winter happened to be very positive for an expedition in terms of weather and the way it was organized. We had good chances to reach the summit too. My sense was very good and I tried my level best to make it a reality, despite the other damaging factors.

My first attempt, on 1st February, was stopped because of a crevasse at 7650m. In addition, I ended up with severe frostbites. Unfortunately, the crevasse was deep and broad, I am glad that I decided to turn back at the right time.

Second push was planned 7th February, but one of my partners (Don Bowie) was utterly sick at 7000m. So much so, that bad symptoms started to show. For me, it was necessary to help him and carefully take him down to the Base Camp. Now that I look back, I saw quite a miracle of a condition on the mountain. Unfortunately, the atmosphere was so windy that it affected my movement on the mountain during my last attempt on 17th February. I felt strong, but in such a bad condition, I was afraid that I would again get frostbitten on the summit ridge. Also, the slope, at 7500m, is very hard to climb as it is quite steep. Just in case of a sudden imbalance under the kicks of wind, it would have been a very deep fall down the crevasse at 7650m. It was also a dangerous part despite the fact that I carried two snow-bars and 20m of rope. Then I figured that it would be too risky to continue on the way up. Therefore, I turned back from 7400m. Detailed complexities broke my last summit push.

DW: Will you give it another try next year? If you do, what would you do differently to brighten your chances of success?

Denis: Of course, not! :)

I know I wouldn’t like spending next Winter in the same circle. Too many specifics need to be taken care of. Be it the weakness of partners or something else. In case if it is ever possible to find new a Sergey Samoilov, Boris Dedeshko, Ueli Steck or Gennadiy Durov, one can think of turning these dreams into reality, along with many other interesting projects. But there is nobody around me now who holds the same level of responsibility and passion for mountaineering. This I am not able to change.

DW: Though you missed the summit, what were the positive take-aways from the expedition?

Denis: Nothing positive, to be honest. Self-satisfaction was very negatively less. I invested a huge amount of time, spent a lot of money, lost credibility of sponsors and public, avoided a lot good possibilities to lead a good civil life, got frostbitten, and became weak with little to no chance to recover from most of these damages - because my alpinism is over.

For future – I just don't wish to live with this mental ballast. Of course, there will be spring to come with new actions in climbing. But this Winter 2020 can be counted as a dark chapter in my career. Sometimes it happens. For example, after my attempts to Nanga Parbat in 2012 and K2 in 2018, it was difficult to recover, but I always have my future planned ahead. However, now, it is zero. It is important to cancel memories as soon as possible, and start afresh to do something positive and pleasant. A few projects for the youth are anticipated ahead. Personally, climbing with my wife Maria and writing a new book in Spain are a few things that I intend to do soon.

Photo Courtesy: Denis Urubko

This news was revised on 06-03-2020