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Reaching Khan Tengri

30-09-2000

“It’s a wild country, nothing can be predicted” he says. He was very lucky that he menaged to come back to Poland last Friday. He didn’t have any money for his return journey. In Alma Ata he met a kind-hearted German who borrowed him 100$ for a ticket. In Middle Asia Adam spent 2 months. He made use of his English as in Russian he doesn’t know a single word. He travelled alone by train, slept in hotels for 2 dollars, yurts, ice caves and ate a cat meat dish... Everything for the mountains. He started with Kyrgizstan. In Pamir he wanted to reach Lenin’s Peak. „It was supposed to be an exercise to get accustomed with the height” he explains. Lenin’s Peak is 7134 metres high, but, as Adam says, it’s technically easy. The group included 7 people, but only two of them moved towards the summit – Adam and his older sister. “The snow conditions were terrible” says Adam. The girl came back to the base camp at 6000 but he went on alone. He was very close to the summit when the avalanche appeared “I was falling down without any protection. Was it unreasonable? Climbing itself isn’t reasonable at all” He laughs „During an avalanche no rope could help” he adds. He didn’t reach this peak but the main destination of his expedition was another mountain – Khan Tengri in Tien shan in Kazakhstan, 100 m shorter than Lenin’s Peak but much more difficult. Still on his own he got to Kazakhstan, but the country didn’t welcome him in a friendly way. “I spent three hours arrested as the police didn’t know that Polish don’t need a visa to their country. They didn’t let me call our Embassy I was a bit afraid as I had in my shoe 180 dollars” he says. In Alma Ata he joined another group consisting of 4 people. But on Khan Tengri he went alone – they panicked when they saw the mountain. They weren’t acclimatized. It was a solo in an Alpine style. He climbed with his whole luggage on his back. The most difficult was the passage from the last, third camp to the summit.1100metres, 13,5 hours, 30 degrees below zero. “I stopped for a while to take a break, when I looked at my watch I realised that 45 minutes passed. I felt like in lethargy” – he recalls. The whole climbing together with the return took 8 days. Downhill in the base camp he noticed that he can’t feel 4 of his fingers.  “Your thumb is in the fire” shouted someone when Adam was cooking dinner. He was biting his fingers to feel something. 8 thousand metres dream, Khan Tengri, the Lord of Spirits, small K2 is called also the bloody mountain. “Before my ascent a German and Byelarussian died on this mountain, but that’s not the reason.Khan in the sun is red” explains Adam. In Kazakhstan he got a certificate that proves that he reached Khan Tengri. It has a number – 00127. „Does it mean that I was 127th on this mountain?”he wonders “I don’t know, but it was probably the youngest ascent in Poland” he adds whith pride. He started climbing when he finished his primary school.“I love mountains thanks to my parents.They were taking me to the Beskidy in a carrycot”. At school I was always fascinated by geography. In year 8 I went climbing in the rocks for the first time. Before I saw them I knew it’s something for me.” He says with passion. From that time for all birthdays and holidays he gets climbing gear. He works as a stilt walker to earn for the expeditions.He practises in the Tatras and the Alps. Once he fell down to a crevasse. The same day as the one when he reached Matterhorn three Polish climbers died there. Now his dream is an 8 thousand metre mountain.