Azerbaijan, Baku / Тrend corr Z. Safarov / "My Preparations for climbing Everest has taken eight years. My wish that I live through this period has come true," Azerbaijani alpinist, Israfil Ashurly, said at a press conference which was dedicated to him climbing one of the most famous mountain peaks.
The rock climber stressed that a good acclimatization schedule and an excellent climbing technique helped him overcome any difficulties. "We had problems on the day of reaching the peak. Despite the weather forecast, it had been snowing all day long well before our journey began. We therefore had to dig the ropes and guess the route to take. Later, we faced another problem. Whilst brushing the snow off my oxygen mask, I accidentally damaged the valve which meant I was receiving less oxygen and therefore found it more difficult to go on. But we were successful," Ashurly stressed.
Ashurly noted that he was very pleased to be the first in the international team to ascend the pick. "I consider it an honour to raise the banner of Azerbaijan over the third pole of the world. Ashurly is the first Azerbaijan climber to climb one of the fourteen 8,000 km mountains. I believe the day will come when Azerbaijani alpinists will climb another thirteen," the alpinist said.