COMUNICAT DE PRESĂ

13 martie 2017

Alpinistul Horia Colibășanu pleacă în cea mai performantă ascensiune românească pe Everest

Timișoreanul Horia Colibășanu se pregătește de cea de-a opta ascensiune în munții Himalaya și de cea mai performantă expediție românească pe vârful Everest (8.848 m), având în vedere că nu va folosi oxigen suplimentar și ajutorul șerpașilor. În alpinismul internațional, Horia Colibășanu este cunoscut ca fiind un practicant al alpinismului pur.

Expediția din 2017 va începe pe data de 7 aprilie, cu ruta: Timișoara – Belgrad – Doha – Kathmandu – Lhasa – Tingre – tabăra de bază Everest – tabăra de bază avansată Everest.

“Voi petrece câteva zile în Kathmandu pentru pregătirea echipamentului, apoi vom zbura la Lhasa. Nu putem merge cu mașina din cauză că ruta obișnuită a fost avariată de un cutremur. Urmează un drum de aproximativ 1000 de kilometri, în două zile, până în tabăra de bază (5000 m). După 3 – 4 zile de aclimatizare vom parcurge în 2 zile cei 25 de kilometri pâna la tabăra de bază avansată, la baza Everestului (6.400 m). Estimăm că ziua de vârf va fi în perioada 18-22 mai”, a spus Horia Colibășanu despre organizarea expediției.

Anul acesta, Colibășanu îl va avea ca partener de expediție pe Ralf Dujmovits (55), singurul alpinist german care a urcat pe toate cele 14 vârfuri de peste 8.000 de metri care încearcă de această dată să urce Everest, ca și Horia, fără oxigen.

“Ralf Dujmovits are o experiență extraordinară în Himalaya. Îi cunosc tehnicile de ascensiune și cred că ne potrivim foarte bine ca și parteneri. Este o expediție foarte dificilă, dar sunt încrezător că, în condiții de vreme bună, vom ajunge pe vârf. Încă discutăm despre ruta pe care vom urca”, a mai adăugat Colibășanu.

Horia Colibășanu este susținut pentru această expediție de Primăria Municipiului Timișoara, Timișoreana, Fan Curier, Autototal, Elba, Vitas și Marmot. Proiectul expediției are sprijinul Clubului Sportiv Alternative Timișoara, al cărei membru este Horia Colibășanu, și al Federației Române de Alpinism și Escaladă.

Cei care vor să susțină cel mai bun alpinist român și cea mai performantă expediție românească pe Everest își pot transmite intenția pe mailul parteneri@horiacolibasanu.com .

CARIERA SPORTIVĂ

Horia Colibășanu este cel mai performant alpinist din istoria României, având în prezent în palmares ascensiuni de succes pe 7 din cele 14 vârfuri montane de peste 8.000 de metri din lume.

Succesul lui Horia Colibasanu pe Muntele K2 (8.611m) din Pakistan, fără oxigen suplimentar și fără șerpași, în 2004, este considerată cea mai mare performanță individuală din alpinismul românesc. Performanța lui a rămas neegalată în România.

Ascensiunile sale au fost fără oxigen suplimentar și fără șerpași, Horia Colibășanu fiind recunoscut internațional pentru practicarea alpinismului pur, adică un sportiv de ultra-performanță cum sunt foarte puțini la nivel mondial. Unele federatii din lume consideră utilizarea oxigenului îmbuteliat o formă de dopaj. Alpinistii care urca muntii pe propriile forte, fizice si psihice, sunt cunoscuti sub denumirea de alpinisti puri.

Cele mai notabile ascensiuni ale lui Colibășanu sunt pe munții Annapurna, K2 și Dhaulagiri, trei din Top 5 munți mortali din lume, potrivit The Economist (mai 2013), care îl citează pe Eberhard Jurgalski, o autoritate în domeniu.

Munții pe care a urcat până acum Colibășanu sunt: K2 (8.611m), Manaslu (8.163m), Dhaulagiri (8.167m), Shishapangma (8.027m), Annapurna (8.091m), Makalu (8.463m), Lhotse (8.516m).

Horia a participat la 18 expediții internaționale de-a lungul carierei sale (până în 2016), făcând echipa cu parteneri din diferite țări, cum ar fi Slovacia, Rusia, Spania și Polonia.

Expediția cu final tragic din Annapurna, din 2008 – când și-a pierdut prietenul și partenerul de coardă, pe Iñaki Ochoa – a fost un moment de cotitură pentru Horia.

Elizabeth Hawley, cea mai bună deținătoare a evidenței expedițiilor himalayene își amintește: “Horia și-a pus propria viață în pericol rămânând (timp de 72 de ore la peste 7.400m altitudine – n.n.) cu colegul lui grav bolnav, Iñaki Ochoa, în condițiile în care el însuși devenise grav bolnav din cauza altitudinii la care se aflau.”

Horia a dat alarma în tabăra de bază, iar unii dintre cei mai buni alpiniști din lume ai momentului s-au mobilizat pentru a-l salva pe Iñaki. Annapurna 2008 a fost cea mai mare operațiune de salvare din istoria Himalayei.

Bazată pe această poveste adevărată, Arena Comunicación din Spania și televiziunea spaniolă TVE au produs filmul documentar “Pura Vida/The Ridge”, câștigător la Festivalul Internațional de Film de la San Sebastian.

Alpiniștii care și-au riscat viața pentru Iñaki, inclusiv Horia Colibășanu, au primit diverse distincții:

• Nominalizarea la premiul Prințul de Asturia (2008) – “pentru sacrificiu, generozitate, spirit de echipă și prietenie”.
• “Spirit of Mountaineering”, în cadrul festivității “Piolet d’Or” (2009)
• Medalia de aur “Meritul Sportiv”, din partea Guvernului Navarrei (2008). Puține persoane au primit, de-a lungul timpului, “Meritul Sportiv”, ca de exemplu Miguel Indurain, câștigător al Turului Franței, cinci ani la rând (1991-1995).

Horia Colibășanu este singurul alpinist român care a primit distincția “Spirit of Mountaineering”, din partea British Alpine Club, primul și cel mai prestigios club montan din lume.

Mindpower Project started in Latvia, country which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union. It includes a series of short movies in each EU country.

“We’ve been travelling since December. In each country we film one personality. We chose Horia for Romania, because he is exceptional in what he does”, says* Marta Kontina, producer.

*Watch video: https://vimeo.com/130410121

The film will be produced and made public soon.

You can find below some pictures during the film scenes. Author: Mircea Gherase.

Horia Colibășanu, 38, has ascended seven 8,000-meter mountains, without additional O2 and no Sherpa support. These include include K2 (8,611m), Annapurna (8,091) and Dhaulagiri (8,167m), three of the world’s most dangerous eight-thousanders. Five of his seven successful summits were firsts for his home country.

Colibășanu is a pure climber. He doesn’t use additional O2, nor high-altitude Sherpas.

In his projects, he is suppported by Timișoreana, Allianz-Țiriac, Sport Guru (Salewa, Dynafit) and Sport.ro (PRO TV Group), Esquire, Pro Sport.

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For updates in English, follow Horia on Twitter (@HColibasanu @MountainViral) *** For other information, please write here: contact@horiacolibasanu.com

Bucharest, March 9: Romanian-born pure climber Horia Colibășanu, atop of seven 8,000-meter summits so far, will leave for the Himalayas in Nepal, at the end of March, to summit and try a descent on skis from an 8,000-meter peak – Mount Manaslu (8,163m). He will not use supplementary oxygen or high-altitude Sherpa.If successful, that would be a first for Colibășanu, and also for his home country.

Thus, Colibășanu will get acclimatized on the standard route for his second project in this climbing season – to ascend Manaslu on the Northside, on an unconventional route, together with Peter Hámor (Slovakia), his rope companion in the past years.

Horia Colibășanu stated: “We are six decades far from the first successful ascents of the world’s highest mountains. In 2015, how you climb a mountain is more important than to reach its summit. Climbing style is everything nowadays.”

Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, is considered one of the most dangerous, with dozens of deaths in recent years. Colibășanu successfully climbed Manaslu in 2006, together with Spaniard Inaki Ochoa (1967-2008).

#ManasluNorth expedition will kick off at the end of March and is scheduled until the end of the spring climbing season in the Himalayas (end of May).

The expedition partners are: Timișoreana Beer, Allianz-Țiriac, Slatina City Hall. Technical sponsors and supporters: Kathrein, Deltatel, Vitas, CS Alternative, Scarpa, S75, Romanian Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing (FRAE), Sport Guru, Dynafit, Salewa. Media partners: Sport.ro, Pro Sport, Esquire.

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About Horia Colibășanu:

Horia Colibășanu, 38, is a dentist and lives in Timișoara city, Romania. He has ascended seven 8,000-meter mountains so far, without additional O2 and with no Sherpa support. The mountains he climbed include K2 (8,611m), Annapurna (8,091) and Dhaulagiri (8,167m), three of the world’s most dangerous eight-thousanders. Five out of his seven successful summits were firsts for his home country.

*** For updates in English, follow us on Twitter: @HColibasanu , @MountainViral *** For other information, please write here: contact@horiacolibasanu.com

Image: Mircea Gherase

Horia Colibășanu Will Announce the 2015 Expedition on January 15

Bucharest, January 11: Romanian-born pure climber Horia Colibășanu, atop of seven 8,000-meter summits so far, will announce his next climbing project, planned to take place between March-May 2015, on Thursday, January 15.

He will make this announcement to the press, public and partners soon after watching the video story of last year’s expedition, “The Other Everest”.

The 2014 expedition, where Horia Colibășanu’s climbing partner was Peter Hamor (Slovakia), had as an objective to open a new route on the Northside of Mount Everest (8,848m), the world’s tallest mountain. The weather conditions on Everest – including strong winds and large surfaces of blue ice – prevented the Romanian-Slovakian team from climbing on the planned route.

The two climbers tried though to ascend on the standard route, twice, but they were forced to abort the climb above the North Col (7,500m).

In 2014, Horia Colibășanu and Peter Hamor were the first climbers in the Himalayas to reach an 8,000-meter summit (Shisha Pangma, Tibet), on April 30, on Inaki Ochoa route. Romanian Justin Ionescu was part of the team.

On Thursday, Horia Colibășanu will disclose information about his coming expedition: mountain, route, partner and schedule.

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About Horia Colibășanu:

Horia Colibășanu, 38, has ascended seven 8,000-meter mountains, without additional O2 and high-altitude Sherpas’ support. The mountains he has climbed include K2 (8,611m), Annapurna (8,091) and Dhaulagiri (8,167m), three of the world’s most dangerous eight-thousanders. Five of his seven successful summits are firsts for his home country.

Colibășanu is a pure climber. He doesn’t use additional O2, nor high-altitude Sherpas.

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For updates in English, follow us on Twitter (@HColibasanu @MountainViral) *** For other information, please write here: contact@horiacolibasanu.com

Romanian-born Horia Colibasanu and Peter Hamor from Slovakia have departed in an expedition to Mount Everest (8,848m), with an aim to ascend the world’s tallest mountain without supplementary oxygen and Sherpa, via the Northern Route (Tibet, China).

Mount Everest has registered more than 5,650 successful summit attempts by 2012, but only 173 – meaning 3% – were accomplished without oxygen, according to Eberhard Jurgalski.

Horia and Peter are getting acclimatized now on Shisha Pangma (8.027m) in Tibet, a mountain which registered 302 successful attempts since 1964, when it was climbed for the first time.

Shisha Pangma has a fatality rate of 8.3%, which is double compared to Mount Everest.

Horia Colibasanu, aged 37, is the only Romanian climber to reach three out of the world’s five most dangerous 8,000-meter peaks: Annapurna, K2 and Dhaulagiri. He carried out those climbs expedition-style – without supplementary oxygen. Five out of Horia’s six successful ascents above 8,000 meters are firsts for his home country, Romania.

Peter Hamor, aged 50, has climbed ten 8,000-meter peaks so far, including K2, Annapurna, Kanchenjunga and Nanga Parbat – four out of the world’s five most dangerous mountains. Peter is the first mountaineer ever to climb Annapurna (8,091m), the most dangerous 8000m peak, from both sides. Peter opened several new routes, including Annapurna (2006).

View from Shisha Pangma, 2009 (Horia Colibasanu’s archive)

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About Mount Everest:

Mount Everest (8,848m) is the tallest in the world and is located at the border between Nepal and Tibet (China). Its Tibetan name, Chomolungma, means Goddess Mother of the World.

The first man to reach the Everest Summit without bottled oxygen was Reinhold Messner (Italy), in 1978 (South) and in 1980 (North).

Everest Peak had been reacheded for the first time in 1953, by legendary Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (Nepal). Up to 2012, Mount Everest has registered 5,656 successful ascents, 97% of them with additional oxygen and Sherpa, according to Eberhard Jurgalski.

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For more information, please write to: contact@horiacolibasanu.com.

Horia’s climbing partner will be Peter Hamor (Slovakia), atop of ten 8,000-meter mountains so far, and one of the best mountaineers nowadays.

Horia made the announcement on Tuesday, December 10th, in front of an audience of 400 people at the Western University in Timisoara.

Horia Colibasanu, now 36, has ascended three out of the world’s five most dangerous 8,000-meter peaks: Annapurna, K2 and Dhaulagiri. He carried out those expedition-style – without supplementary oxygen. Five out his six successful ascents were firsts for Romania.

Horia has attended 15 international expeditions spanning his career (as of 2013), joining climbing partners from various countries, such as Slovakia, Russia, Spain and Poland. Click here to read about his successful attempts at extreme altitude: http://horiacolibasanu.com/expeditions/.

Mount Everest (8.848m) is the tallest in the world and is located at the border between Nepal and Tibet (China). Its Tibetan name, Chomolungma, means Goddess Mother of the world.

Everest Peak was first reached in 1953, by legendary Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (Nepal). Up to 2012, Mount Everest had registered 5,656 successful ascents, most of them with additional oxygen and Sherpa.

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For more information, please visit: http://horiacolibasanu.com/media-center/ or drop an e-mail here: contact@horiacolibasanu.com

There have passed almost ten years since the successful attempt of K2, a fearful and respected mountain. I was so enthusiastic and exhausted after the summit day, that I couldn’t realize the meaning of that moment (one day, I will share with you which were my thoughts those days, as well as the adventures throughout the expedition).

I still smile when I remember that only Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner’s words, she is a reputed mountaineer, showed me the proper dimension of what I had just accomplished, just before leaving Pakistan. I had had success, Gerlinde assured me. Oh, what a heavy word, I was thinking!

On the day I landed back home, in 2004, I felt like I was a different person. I had won my place among the world’s respected mountaineers. Besides, I became kind of famous. I was surprised and overwhelmed too by the press articles, by the TV cameras and flashes, and by the hundreds of messages coming from all over the country!

I used to feel strong and self-confident atop of a mountain, but I didn’t know how to deal with the notoriety which came all of a sudden! So, I concentrated on my next move and on my next expedition every time. I carefully wasted every drop of energy and time.

Throughout those ten years, I walked the ways between my dental clinic to home and to the training spots, for thousands of times. I always saved resources for my family and friends.

Other successful attempts on the world’s highest mountains followed, some of them didn’t happen from the first time. I succeeded to climb Annapurna, a dreadful mountain, on my third attempt. Many of you know the circumstances! I learnt that U-turn, failure and postpone are part of any success story. Those make it even stronger.

Messages from you have never stopped coming. They were so many and diverse. They talked about encouragement, congratulations, thanks, appreciation, respect! there were some negative ones, as well.

They thrilled me and gave me joy; they motivated me and gave me power to move on; sometimes, I learned things from you.

I would like you to take these words as a way to thank each one of you.

I will try to drop some words from time to time here, in my tiny spare time. I will share life events, training methods, experiences which are worth-telling, and so on! I will try to make room for adventure, humor, friendship, stories and to life itself.

I kindly invite you to my world and I thank you all for joining me. If my presence on this blog will be occasional, please understand that I am working hard for my next adventure, while I am thinking about you all.

Kind regards,

Horia Colibasanu

horia@horiacolibasanu.com