Yuri Koshelenko’s "Moonlight Sonata"

On November, 2, 2003 Yuri Koshelenko of Rostov and Valeri Babanov of St.Petersburg successfully ascended the East Summit of Nuptse, one of the highest mountains in the Himalayas. (7804м).

- Yuri, my warmest congratulations on your remarkable achievement on behalf of the ROSTOV.RU readers. What did you feel when you came back to Russia?

- Thank you so much. At the railway station I was met by many friends. Coming back home is always exciting, the more so when one has an experience of victory.

- It is been a while since you returned. Have you analyzed that ascent?
- We knew pretty well what was in store for us. For my partner Valeri babanov it was a third attempt to climb Nuptse East. It had been the highest unclimbed mountain on Earth.

- How many attempts have been made?

- Sixteen. The French were the closest to success. In 1994, they were able to reach 7500 meters.

- Were you afraid that you could fail, too?

- The scariest thing was the idea that we could get lost. We studied some photos and realized that there must be a sharp turn. Our apprehensions turned out to be correct. But when we passed it, we understood that everything depended only on us. The final climb on the face was tough - too high, too difficult and strenuous. We thought we would end up frost-bitten, as we had not taken our sleeping-bags and warm parkas to the highest point with us. For an exhausted body at an altitude of 7.000 meters, a couple of kilograms seem unliftable.
- At what point did you realize that you would make it to the top?

- On the summit day. When it was getting dark, we needed to make our choice: either to go up or down. The decision was quite intuitive. We just continued climbing up in silence. We knew that it was a “now or never” matter, as it was bitterly cold and our hands were numb. With what was left of our strength, we first made it to the ridge and then to the pinnacle.

- …and here you are on the peak. What did you feel?

- That was my victory over the physical and at the same time it marked a new step in my spiritual development. Everybody should aspire to progress and perfection. On the mountain, one comes to understand a lot forgetting of the petty and the mundane beneath. You see indescribable beauty. It is for this beauty that we make almost unimaginable ascents.

- Have you photographed the panorama from above?

- No picture can capture the esthetic elation one gets up there. Anyway, a night climb of an unknown peak always puts the possibility of return in question. But we made it to the unclimbed summit thanks to our willingness and spiritual surrender.
- Why did you name the peak “Moonlight Sonata”?

- When we descended, we were asked to give a name. We thought that this name described the best what we had seen. The Himalayas washed in moonlight were spreading in front of us.
Тimur Ivanov