Hungarians on the Earth’s Eight-Thousanders
Did you know that the Himalayas have 14 peaks exceeding 8 000 meters? ( That’s 26 246.719 feet above sea-level for the metrically challenged.) And that 12 of them fly the Hungarian flag, fluttering in the wind for the angels to see?
Two members of the larger expeditionary team that accomplished this feat, Mr. Lajos Kollár and Mr. László Mécs, have honoured with their presence the OHCC on February 28, sharing with us, via a slide-presentation and dicussions, the details of their 10 years pursuit.
Between 2003 and 2013 they have lived through stellar successes (they have conquered 12 summits) and tragic losses (let me mention only the latest: two team members were lost; one of them, admittedly, while turning back to help the other. Only one body has been recovered). More often than not, they have used the unbeaten path on their approach, but what they were definitely admired for in the mountaineering community, is that they were “purists”, i.e. no oxygen bottles, and no sherpas for load-carrying on final approach. Needless to say, this mountaineering style requires superior physical and mental training, stamina, endurance and determination. The most successful of the expeditionary team was Erőss Zsolt (the first Hungarian to conquer Csomulungma[ Mount Everest]), who perished with a team-mate on their descent from the 10th summit in 2013.
After the nearly two hours long presentation the questions did not seem to abate. The participants have got answers regarding the technical details (minutiae) of the expedition, about the timetable of the preparations, about future plans and prospects, about the mental and physical attributes of a successful mountaineer.
It was an uplifting evening and we thank everyone who participated. Special thanks to the volunteers!