III. The mountains beckon

After graduating from the seven-year school, Tur entered the eighth grade in the fall of 1928. For him, like for most of us, the transition to the second stage was difficult. New teachers, in their introductory conversations, essentially read the waste of childhood. Our childhood years are over, from now on we must learn to think, speak and behave like adults. We were advised to read newspapers and good books, and in newspapers the most boring things are the most important. Reading will help us become independent thinkers and “contributing members of society.” And we wanted to be children a little more, we dreamed of sports, of adventure. I remember not being at all happy about the idea of becoming an adult.

And Tur was the least in a hurry to say goodbye to his childhood. Younger in age, he did not keep up with the others in development. It was immediately felt that he was uneasy. It was at this time that our friendship was formed. We were introduced to a toy boat made of pine wood, but what really brought us together were common dreams and views, similar impressions. Near Tur - this is his Master's Pond. I just have a barrel of water. But what an incomparable barrel! My father was a gardener. In one of his greenhouses there was a huge barrel where he filled a watering can with water. Sometimes there were rose bushes or other plants in the barrel, prepared for planting, but more often than not only twigs and duckweed floated in the dark water, and a mysterious forest of some nameless sprouts stuck out at the bottom. As a child, I, reaching with my nose to the edge of the barrel, often looked at the unknown world in the water column, coming to life in a new way every time the slanting rays of the sun pierced the glass of the greenhouse. Forming bizarre combinations, the colors shimmered, at the bottom - like dark red velvet, at the edges - a poisonous green edge. All kinds of small things scurried between the stems, panicles and mud; from time to time shiny bubbles rose upward, as if someone was muttering there, in the depths. And the sun goes down, and I see myself in the barrel - brown hair and a nose full of freckles, which I kept trying to pick off with my fingernail.

When I became a high school student, I also found my way to forest ponds and was fascinated by their inhabitants. Newts are like miniature lizards... Once upon a time, their ancient relatives roamed the earth, leaving a trail wider than a car track. They lived, fought for existence, but powerful natural disasters destroyed them. Tur and I saw this in the action movie “ lost World" And we talked about dinosaurs, brontosaurs, plesiosaurs and other antediluvian giants. There was no shortage of topics for conversation, only we avoided talking about ourselves, for fear of revealing any weakness of ours. Back then, youth problems were not discussed on the pages of newspapers and magazines; everyone kept their worries to themselves and tried to cope with them themselves.

At school, Tur still remained average. Mathematics was better than other subjects. He liked the pure logic of equations, and geometric constructions were somewhat reminiscent of a game. Gradually he got along with grammar.

But the passion for natural science has cooled. Having encountered plants in textbooks for the second level, he was disappointed. In them, flowers were not a miracle of creation, but dull exhibits, grouped by the shape of the petals and the number of stamens. Plants were cut, analyzed and discarded. Aroma and beauty did not play a role. Almost the same thing happened with zoology, although we still learned something about the life of animals. Here Tur was still able to outshine everyone, astonishing the class with his knowledge. But there was no former passion. Why? After all, animals were his strong point. And there was no shortage of encouragement; he quickly became the science teacher's favorite. He was set as an example for us, but Tur preferred not to stand out. Often he was given concessions that he did not want. And the class looked at Tur in surprise when he began to come to science lessons unprepared. But when he began to refuse to answer even simple questions, we finally realized what was going on. Only the teacher did not understand anything. However, he forgave Tura everything and continued to consider him his most capable student in all his years.

But the real stumbling block turned out to be God's law. The subject was taught by a priest who knew the Bible very well, but did not know how to touch the soul of the student. Know and memorize long psalms with all sorts of difficult words and Luther’s small catechism. For Tur, this was infinitely far from what his father told him. And extremely intricate next to the mother's views on life and evolution.

In general, during these years, school seemed completely divorced from life to Tour. It was difficult to force myself to concentrate on the lessons; thoughts almost drifted far, far away. The pencil tirelessly drew palm trees, thatched huts, and amazing animals on the covers of textbooks.

Perhaps the thing that brought Tur the most grief was physical education. Here he was hopelessly behind the others. He had no ability for football, and he didn’t like it. And when the guys were divided into teams, they remembered him for the last time.

When we went to the sea to swim, Tur sat on the shore and looked. True, few could compare with him in cross-country, but this sport was not in honor.

Apparently, it was then that Tur decided to take charge of himself, because thorough preparations began in secret. At home, in the corner of the yard, my father dug two high pillar with a crossbar at the top. I hung a climbing rope, strengthened the horizontal bar and rings. And soon the Tour is doing tricks that we were unable to do. Pulls himself up with one arm and hangs. Why, on one hand - he could pull himself up on one finger! At the same time, he developed self-control. He hits his knuckles on the edge of the table - and no matter what, he doesn’t even wince. We weren’t really tempted to repeat this test after him, and when we had to, we did it much more carefully.

At this time, two brothers obsessed with sports settled in one of the neighboring houses. In the summer they were involved in athletics, in the winter - skiing. Both were sociable guys, and Tur found support from them. They invited him to cross-country and ski trips, even persuaded him to participate in competitions with other guys. But victory didn’t bother Tour; it was important for him to exercise to become strong and resilient. If he got tired during a cross-country race, he would sit down to rest on a stone or stump, then run on. And following the tracks of the beast, he could have left the distance altogether. The protocol with the results of two crosses has been preserved. In one of them, Tur came last. In another, he was fourth out of five participants. And that was thanks to the fact that one of the runners got lost on the track.

The parents also noticed that something was happening to the guy. And the mother realized: it was time to give him more freedom, otherwise he would have a hard time in the adult world. She agreed with her father that exercise was only beneficial.

Heyerdahl Sr. bought and inherited several estates and “shelters”. Most of all, he loved the house in Ustauset, where many people built their summer cottages and one could always meet friends and have fun. Mrs. Alison preferred another house, on the shore of Lake Hurnsjö, in the mountains beyond Lillehammer. The nature here suited her taste: a lot of air, a huge sky, long ridges with heather and dwarf birch going into the distance, shimmering lakes and wide plateaus, in the blue distance - the wild massifs of Jotunheimen and Rondane with caps of eternal snow and ice.

Thor was only five years old when he first came to Hurnsjö. This corner of the mountain wilderness played a big role for him. Year after year he came there for the summer. Once he was allowed to spend the night with a friend in a tent near the house. This was a real event for the boys. They couldn't sleep because of excitement. From the distant forest below came the voices of night birds and animals. The wind shook the tent, and it seemed that someone was wandering nearby.

The first night the guys spent under a spruce tree without a tent was unforgettable. How nice it is in the forest! People have clearly lost something important: they live in boxes, breathe smoke and dust instead of forest and mountain air...

One day in the summer a man came to the mountains with a knapsack on his shoulders, and it was almost as if he had nothing else. His name was Ola Bjørneby. This tanned, seasoned mountain dweller was surprisingly cheerful, despite the hardships he had endured. Until recently, he lived in the house of a wealthy timber merchant in one of the cities of Estland. It turned out that the family went bankrupt. Taking the essentials, Ula went to the mountains to engage in hunting. In the valley east of Hurnsjö he lived in an old sheepfold with an earthen floor. Along the wall between the bottom log and the floor was a hole for sheep. In the corner of the sheepfold there was an iron cauldron on the stones. This is where Ula cooked. A homemade table and two stools - that’s all the furnishings. Ula slept all year round on a high shelf, covered with sheepskins and blankets.

Tur and his mother came here during one of their long walks. Both were immediately fascinated by it an unusual person. For Tur, he was the personification of Tarzan, for Mrs. Alison - a cheerful adventurer with an inexhaustible supply of stories from the lives of animals. Ula talked about his life as a hunter, showing how he carved beautiful bowls and cups from intricately curved branches.

And something completely unexpected happened: fourteen-year-old Tur was allowed to spend the summer with Ula and help him. Tour saw with his own eyes how a city man from cultural family managed to get used to nature so much that the forest and mountains became the same home for him as for the hare and elk.

For the first time in his life, Tur really worked. He walked a lot, carried a load, but did not show that it was hard for him, even when his legs gave way from fatigue. If they fished at night, then they slept the day right there on a flat stone.

Ola Bjørneby taught him to read footprints in the grass, explained what a piece of wool stuck to the bark meant, and how to shelter from bad weather. Later, Thor said more than once that the science he studied with Bjørneby was perhaps the most important for his upbringing.

Mountains became a symbol of freedom for Tours. Here he spent summer holidays, best time of the year. The Highlands were a huge playground where adventure awaited wherever you turned. The mountain plateaus with their meager soil, where groves of white-trunked birches give way to juniper and dwarf birch clinging to the slope, modest flowers and stones with wigs of gray, green, yellow lichen - this was genuine Norway, his Norway. Sharp peaks in the hazy distance, forest valleys and a sparkling strip of river far below, as if in underground world... And here above goats are jumping on the stones, cows are ringing their bells, birds chirping and the wind bursts into the fragrance of sun-warmed flowers. Here was his kingdom - secluded mountain farms with gray walls and turf roofs.

From the mountain kingdom he returned every year to his city on the shores of the Oslofjord. Larvik personified autumn and winter, gray days and schoolwork. How could it compare with the highlands - the world of light, freedom, adventure. I had never climbed so high into the mountains, and my city seemed different to me: sunny streets they run up, winding, up the slopes; beech, spruce and pine approach the houses; sun-baked football White beach. And the port is the gateway to a big, unknown world. The tour agreed: the latter is indeed a considerable plus. And he will use this someday - when he begins his travels, goes to strange, uncharted lands. But everything is already open, I objected. Africa has ceased to be the Dark Continent. Australia has been on the map for a long time. Only in the Amazon basin there are still little-explored places, but this area cannot be called completely unknown.

“Discoveries can be not only geographical,” replied Tur. - There are still many mysteries in the world, for example, the mystery of Easter Island.

Honestly! He said so, I still hear these words to this day.

Of course, we also talked about girls. Cinema and illustrated magazines had not yet begun to extract profit from youth problems and gender issues. We were attracted to girls, but we were terribly embarrassed, Tur especially, he was wildly afraid that someone would notice his interest in them.

Undoubtedly, his mother played a role here, although she probably did not suspect it.

What are you saying, Tur is indifferent to girls,” she said. - He is interested only in zoology.

Hearing this again and again, Tur himself finally decided that it was awkward to admit how much more his girls were interested in than zoology. They were ethereal creatures from another world. Here was his ideal at that time: a girl should be beautiful, warm-hearted and fair. Furthermore, natural and simple: she should not paint her lips or do a manicure. It is absurd to try to embellish what is given to you by nature itself.

In matters of faith, he was greatly influenced by his mother's views. He admitted that there are things incomprehensible to reason, but priests, rituals, psalms and church services are all far-fetched, artificial. Only in the sacrament something original remained, albeit with a tinge of sacrifice and cannibalism, which seemed disgusting to him. He stubbornly, stubbornly talked about it.

From religion there was only one step to the question that occupied Tour's thoughts from a young age and prompted him to make a very important decision. The beauty of mountain freedom, a half-religious admiration for nature and the animal world, minor sorrows that none of us can escape, a feeling of loneliness, difficult home circumstances - all this made him doubt that civilization is a good for humanity. What's valuable about it? Over time, this problem became one of the main ones for him.

During these years the Tour was often left to its own devices. The mother was minding her own business, the father was constantly traveling, his schoolmates were interested in things that did not interest him. At this time he opened his soul to me. We found that we looked at many things the same, while remaining different enough to have something to argue about. I was interested in music. Tur loved it too, but didn’t want to study it. The feelings evoked by music were important to him, not technique and theory. He was even more indifferent to literature. Poems did not reach him; he considered novels a surrogate for life. When his mother advised him to read Hamsun or Undset, he objected with the aplomb of youth that he did not want to be influenced by other people's fiction. It is better to know life yourself, and to find out by closely communicating with nature.

In ninth grade, Tour's thoughts about the contrast between nature and civilization began to form a worldview. He constantly talked about a “return to nature.” Brain modern people stuffed to capacity not so much with his own observations, but with what books, newspapers, magazines, radio and cinema present. The result is brain overload and limited ability to perceive. A person of the uncivilized world loads his brain only with everyday observations, knows only what he draws from own experience and oral traditions. Therefore, the mind of such a person is always sharp and open to new things, his instincts are not muted, all his feelings are alive.

Of course, this problem is complex and multifaceted. To understand the shortcomings and vices of civilization, you need to see them from the outside. Members of our society themselves cannot judge whether what they have created is good or bad; for this they must have something to compare it with. Civilization is like a house full of people who have never left the door. None of them even know what the house they live in looks like. Someone has to take the plunge and come out of the house to tell others what it's like. Someone has to be first.

I first noticed hesitation in Tours when he talked about his plans for the future. Maybe he won't stop at natural science. Maybe he was destined to walk out the door and see something no one else had seen.

The older Tur became, the clearer it was to him that something was wrong between his parents. Father showed up at home less and less and finally left Larvik altogether. It was said that he was going on vacation to Ustauset, but in reality it turned out differently. While Mrs. Alison lived in the old house, he never returned there. Without Tur's knowledge, the parents agreed to separate. Both tried to keep it secret, and it didn’t come to a legal divorce; they spared their son. Of course, Tour was upset, but everything developed so slowly, so gradually that this outcome was not a blow to him. And he’s used to his father traveling all the time. Realizing that his father would not return, Tur tried to use every opportunity to see him.

The year Tur graduated from school, the rooms in the house were quiet, sad and dreary. But just this year was rich in bright and interesting events, which helped Tur cope with loneliness and sadness. All of us, regardless of our academic performance, were looking forward to the holiday of finishing school, this time of short but vigorous flowering, when we would turn into red flowers in a rather colorless city. We had a lot of things to do. It was necessary to prepare a graduation newspaper and stage a school revue. As always in such cases, the main burden fell on the shoulders of a few enthusiasts. Among them were Tur and me, and, of course, this was reflected in our certificate. The entire school year, in our dreams and in reality, at the table and in class, we thought and talked only about the revue. Almost every day we gathered for important meetings, and I spent almost all evenings in Tur’s room, a cozy “den” with light-colored furniture, next to which the bright red upholstery of the couch stood out. In this room, I, the longest in the class, under the influence of temporary insanity, succumbed to persuasion to perform “The Dying Swan.” And here Tour one evening overcame his shyness and offered to play the main role - the role of the famous Professor Picard, ascending to heaven in a beer barrel, in a play that he himself wrote. Tour on stage! Tour in front of thousands of eyes! Incredible.

The reviews for the review were brilliant. Never before have city newspapers used such epithets. For us, graduates, it was a sensation that Tur performed and showed undoubted abilities in the role of a comedian. We knew what it cost him. But for the Tour itself, this victory was much more important than we suspected at the time. For him it was a test, after which he became a different person. His shyness did not leave him, but from now on he did not shy away from people so much and became firmly part of our company.

That spring we all went together to the alumni celebrations in neighboring cities. And they noticed that the Tour feels much freer than before. He walked the longest at night, sometimes until dawn. The girls started looking at him. At evenings it happened more than once that some girl chose Tur as her gentleman and made him understand that if he was a man, he should take her home after the dance. Of course, Tur was a man, but he always found a way to call on me for help, because he was afraid of turning into a pillar of salt when left alone with a girl. I would like to know how many respectable ladies, who have now reached a dangerous age, remember my tactlessness with an unkind word. I honestly fulfilled the duty of friendship, did not lag behind the Tour one step and pretended to be a fool when we passed by my house and the girl asked:

Wait, Arnold, don't you live here?

Having safely delivered the young and disappointed lady to her native harbor, we became ourselves. They wandered the streets in waves of lilac spirit and spoke passionately about the wonders of nature and the absurdities of civilization. The tour kept talking about how good it was for people before the birth of any culture, when they lived in complete harmony with nature. He took apart our varnished society piece by piece and asked: what genuine, natural joys can modern life offer us? We are building a new Tower of Babel, which only complicates everything. And even if we create something good, these are only patches on the evils of civilization.

He pointed to the factory chimneys in the eastern part of the city. After a few hours, they will again begin to spew toxic smoke and steam. In the early morning, workers will enter the workshops illuminated by electric light and emerge gloomy and gloomy only in the evening, when the city lights come on. And so almost whole year. He compared these people with the mountain dweller Ula Bjørneby - he is always lively and cheerful, full of strength and health. Yes, when he, Tur, is finally convinced of the correctness of his view, he will act accordingly, he himself will carry out a “return to nature.” He will find a girl willing to carry out such an experience with him. The girl must be strong and firmly believe in his plan, otherwise she will not dare to break with civilization. He asked my opinion: is it possible to find such a girl? Perhaps, I thought, but how and where was he going to look for her?

The tour acted as it did more than once later. I went straight and found her. The girl's name was Liv, she was fair and slender, like a birch tree. At the alumni celebration in one of neighboring cities I suddenly lost Tour. Only late in the evening I managed to find him in secluded corner. He sat there with his precious find. I approached, coughing carefully, but he didn’t see or hear anything. Then Tur excitedly told me that a miracle had happened. He met his chosen one, the only one who could handle what he had planned. They were introduced by mutual friends. Tur did not dance, but somehow he had to keep her, and he persuaded the girl to take a walk along the seashore. Here they started talking. She immediately captivated him, and before he had time to come to his senses, he blurted out:

What do you think about going back to nature?

The next second he was ready to bite off his tongue and spit it out into the waves. Messed up everything! She will take him for a madman...

The girl was silent, then turned to him and said sternly:

But it must be a full, real return.

Did he hear right?..

The tour would be betraying itself if it simply parted with her now, as if it were a pipe dream. They agreed to meet at the next alumni evening. But she didn't come. He was terribly sad. It was necessary to come up with something, to help him somehow. One of Tur's comrades borrowed his father's car, and we drove to the city where Liv lived. There we sat for several hours, like detectives, in the car in front of her house. No one could muster the courage to go up and press the doorbell button, let alone Tour, who had lost faith in himself again. So we left with nothing. For many days he walked as if in a fever and kept trying to figure out why she no longer showed up. The only thing he achieved was meeting one guy who, without hiding his gloating, said that Liv had another. The tour couldn't, didn't want to believe it, but Liv no longer showed up at alumni events. And then the holiday season ended. And with her, her school years ended.

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Mountains beckon a person and challenge him. Some people accept the challenge. But not everyone comes back. Among climbers there is also a rating of “killer mountains”, which are extremely dangerous to conquer.

Annapurna

Location: Nepal. Himalayas.
Height: 8091 m.
Annapurna was the first of all 14 eight-thousanders to be conquered. This happened, however, by accident. The group of the French climber Maurice Herzog was going to conquer another peak - Dhaulagiri, but after reconnaissance they decided that they could conquer another mountain. It turned out to be Annapurna, the northernmost peak of the Himalayas. The ascent took place on June 3, 1950. The conquered peak “took its toll” from the French group. All members of the expedition suffered frostbite; Maurice Herzog had to have his fingers and toes amputated throughout the descent.

The French group was still lucky. To date, one and a half hundred ascents have been made to Annapurna. Over the entire history of conquering the peak, the mortality rate of climbers was 41%, which is extremely high. For comparison, Everest has this coefficient of only 7.4%. It should be taken into account that only experienced climbers go to Annapurna, while Everest is attempted by everyone who has enough money in their wallet.
American top-class climber Ed Vitus, who conquered all 14 eight-thousanders, left Annapurna “for dessert.” His impressions of this mountain are interesting: “Annapurna represents one great danger, it's all covered in ice. One large piece of ice with ice build-up on it. And the whole question is in which direction the next growth will deviate, forward or backward."

Location: Pakistan and China, Karakoram.
Height: 8614 m.
K2, Chogori, or Dopsang is considered the second most difficult peak on Earth to climb, second only to the already mentioned Annapurna. Moreover, Chogori is also the second highest peak (after Everest), but in terms of difficulty of conquest it is much higher than Chomolungma.

K2 was discovered back in 1856, but it was conquered almost a century later, in 1954, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio. Interestingly, in 1902, the famous occultist and mountaineer Aleister Crowley attempted to conquer the mountain, but he did not succeed in reaching the top.
As of mid-2008, 284 people had been to the top of this mountain, 66 died while attempting to climb. A large number of The climbers died on the way back. The mortality rate of this terrible peak is 25%, that is, every fourth of those who tried to conquer K2 died.
The Russians left a noticeable mark on the history of ascents to Chogori. The route that our climbers managed to overcome on August 21, 2007 is considered the most difficult. The Russian group climbed the western wall of the peak, which until that time was considered impassable. No one managed to conquer K2 in winter.

Nangaparbat

Location: Pakistan, Himalayas.
Height: 8125 m.
Nanga Parbat is called the “killer mountain” and the “sinker of people”. This is the westernmost peak of the Himalayas. Nanga Parbat began collecting its sad statistics from the first attempt to conquer it - in 1895 it “swallowed” the best climber of his time, the British Albert Mummery. Since then, according to statistics for 2011, Nanga Parbat has claimed the lives of 64 climbers. In total, 263 people were able to conquer Nanga Parbat. The mortality rate of this peak is almost 23%. Every fifth climber who dared to challenge the mountain died.

Pragmatic people explain the reason for such a high mortality rate by the extremely unfavorable sum of climatic factors in the mountain area - the arid climate at the foot causes a huge temperature difference. This makes the weather very unpredictable, and deadly avalanches are also common.
IN Lately The “human factor” also strengthens the unpleasant reputation. In June last year, a camp of climbers located at the foot of the mountain was attacked by Taliban militants. As a result, 10 people died.

Nanga Parbat, however, is magnetically attractive - this mountain has the highest absolute altitude. When you come close to the mountain, you can see a wall 4.5 kilometers high above you.

Kanchenjunga

Location: India, Himalayas.
Height: 8586 m.
The third highest eight-thousander in the world, the easternmost of them. The already mentioned Aleister Crowley was the first to try to conquer the mountain in 1905. Did not work out. Kanchenjunga was conquered only 50 years later. In the entire history of ascents, only 187 people reached the summit safely. Of these, only 5 were women.

It is believed that Kanchenjunga is a female mountain, which is why she kills climbers who dare to conquer her.
The mortality rate of this peak is 22%. Contrary to statistics, which tends to decline in the case of all other killer mountains, the opposite is true with Kanchenjunga. Year after year the mountain takes new lives. By the way, this mountain was wonderfully depicted by Nicholas Roerich in the painting of the same name. Google it.

Location: Switzerland, Alps.
Height: 3970 m.
The only western peak in our ranking. Despite its seemingly insignificant height, Eighar is considered one of the deadliest peaks in the world. Agar first submitted to man on August 11, 1858. Several routes lead to the top of the mountain. The most difficult route is considered to be the northern face of Eigar. It was first passed only on July 24, 1938. The difficulty of the route is due to the incredibly large difference in altitude and very unstable weather on the northern slope. Over the years of climbing, the peak claimed the lives of 64 people.

When I became a high school student, I also found my way to forest ponds and was fascinated by their inhabitants. Newts are like miniature lizards... Once upon a time, their ancient relatives roamed the earth, leaving a trail wider than a car track. They lived, fought for existence, but powerful natural disasters destroyed them. Tur and I saw this in the action movie The Lost World. And we talked about dinosaurs, brontosaurs, plesiosaurs and other antediluvian giants. There was no shortage of topics for conversation, only we avoided talking about ourselves, for fear of revealing any weakness of ours. Back then, youth problems were not discussed on the pages of newspapers and magazines; everyone kept their worries to themselves and tried to cope with them themselves.

When we went to the sea to swim, Tur sat on the shore and looked. True, few could compare with him in cross-country, but this sport was not in honor.

Apparently, it was then that Tur decided to take charge of himself, because thorough preparations began in secret. At home, in the corner of the yard, my father dug two high pillars with a crossbar on top. I hung a climbing rope, strengthened the horizontal bar and rings. And soon the Tour is doing tricks that we were unable to do. Pulls himself up with one arm and hangs. Why, on one hand - he could pull himself up on one finger! At the same time, he developed self-control. He hits his knuckles on the edge of the table - and no matter what, he doesn’t even wince. We weren’t really tempted to repeat this test after him, and when we had to, we did it much more carefully.

Tur and his mother came here during one of their long walks. Both were immediately fascinated by this unusual man. For Tur, he was the personification of Tarzan, for Mrs. Alison - a cheerful adventurer with an inexhaustible supply of stories from the lives of animals. Ula talked about his life as a hunter, showing how he carved beautiful bowls and cups from intricately curved branches.

And something completely unexpected happened: fourteen-year-old Tur was allowed to spend the summer with Ula and help him. Tur saw with his own eyes how a city man from a cultured family managed to get used to nature so much that the forest and mountains became the same home for him as for a hare and an elk.

Mountains became a symbol of freedom for Tours. Here he spent his summer holidays, the best time of the year. The Highlands were a huge playground where adventure awaited wherever you turned. The mountain plateaus with their meager soil, where groves of white-trunked birches give way to juniper and dwarf birch clinging to the slope, modest flowers and stones with wigs of gray, green, yellow lichen - this was genuine Norway, his Norway. Sharp peaks in the hazy distance, forest valleys and a sparkling strip of river far below, as if in the underworld... And here above goats jump on the stones, cows ring their bells, birds chirp and the wind bursts into the fragrance of sun-warmed flowers. Here was his kingdom - secluded mountain farms with gray walls and turf roofs.

From the mountain kingdom he returned every year to his city on the shores of the Oslofjord. Larvik personified autumn and winter, gray days and schoolwork. How could it compare with the highlands - the world of light, freedom, adventure. I had never climbed so high into the mountains, and my city seemed different to me: sunny streets winding up the slopes; beech, spruce and pine approach the houses; football, sun-baked white beach. And the port is the gateway to a big, unknown world. The tour agreed: the latter is indeed a considerable plus. And he will use this someday - when he begins his travels, goes to strange, uncharted lands. But everything is already open, I objected. Africa has ceased to be the Dark Continent. Australia has been on the map for a long time. Only in the Amazon basin there are still little-explored places, but this area cannot be called completely unknown.

“Discoveries can be not only geographical,” replied Tur. - There are still many mysteries in the world, for example, the mystery of Easter Island.

Honestly! He said so, I still hear these words to this day.

Undoubtedly, his mother played a role here, although she probably did not suspect it.

What are you saying, Tur is indifferent to girls,” she said. - He is interested only in zoology.

Hearing this again and again, Tur himself finally decided that it was awkward to admit how much more his girls were interested in than zoology. They were ethereal creatures from another world. Here was his ideal at that time: a girl should be beautiful, warm-hearted and fair. Moreover, it is natural and simple: she does not have to paint her lips or do a manicure. It is absurd to try to embellish what is given to you by nature itself.

In ninth grade, Tour's thoughts about the contrast between nature and civilization began to form a worldview. He constantly talked about a “return to nature.” The brains of modern people are filled to capacity not so much with their own observations, but with what books, newspapers, magazines, radio and films present. The result is brain overload and limited ability to perceive. A person in the uncivilized world loads his brain only with everyday observations and knows only what he draws from his own experience and oral traditions. Therefore, the mind of such a person is always sharp and open to new things, his instincts are not muted, all his feelings are alive.

The year Tur graduated from school, the rooms in the house were quiet, sad and dreary. But just this year was rich in bright and interesting events that helped Tur cope with loneliness and sadness. All of us, regardless of our academic performance, were looking forward to the holiday of finishing school, this time of short but vigorous flowering, when we would turn into red flowers in a rather colorless city. We had a lot of things to do. It was necessary to prepare a graduation newspaper and stage a school revue. As always in such cases, the main burden fell on the shoulders of a few enthusiasts. Among them were Tur and me, and, of course, this was reflected in our certificate. The entire school year, in our dreams and in reality, at the table and in class, we thought and talked only about the revue. Almost every day we gathered for important meetings, and I spent almost all evenings in Tur’s room, a cozy “den” with light-colored furniture, next to which the bright red upholstery of the couch stood out. In this room, I, the longest in the class, under the influence of temporary insanity, succumbed to persuasion to perform “The Dying Swan.” And here Tour one evening overcame his shyness and offered to play the main role - the role of the famous Professor Picard, ascending to heaven in a beer barrel, in a play that he himself wrote. Tour on stage! Tour in front of thousands of eyes! Incredible.

Without being lazy, especially for those who still do not believe in the dead on the mountain, I found some memories of climbers and documentary evidence of the conquest of just one peak - Everest.

Everest is a modern Golgotha. Anyone who goes there knows that he has a chance not to return. Roulette with Mountain. Whether you're lucky or unlucky. Not everything depends on you. Hurricane wind, frozen valve on the oxygen tank, incorrect timing, avalanche, exhaustion, etc.

Everest often proves to people that they are mortal. At least because when you rise you see the bodies of those who are never destined to come down again.
According to statistics, about 1,500 people climbed the mountain.

Remained there (according to various sources) from 120 to 200. Can you imagine?

Here are very revealing statistics up to 2002 about dead people on the mountain (name, nationality, date of death, place of death, cause of death, whether you made it to the top).

Among these 200 people there are those who will always meet new conquerors. According to various sources, there are eight openly lying bodies on the northern route.
Among them are two Russians. From the south there are about ten. And if you move left or right...

I’ll tell you only about the most famous losses:

“Yes, in the mountains there lie hundreds of corpses frozen from cold and exhaustion, who fell into the abyss.” Valery Kuzin.

"Why are you going to Everest?" asked George Mallory.
"Because he is!"

I am one of those who believe that Mallory was the first to reach the summit and died on the descent. In 1924, the Mallory-Irving team launched an assault. Last time they were seen through binoculars in a break in the clouds only 150 meters from the summit. Then the clouds moved in and the climbers disappeared.

The mystery of their disappearance, the first Europeans remaining on Sagarmatha, worried many. But it took many years to find out what happened to the climber.
In 1975, one of the conquerors claimed that he saw some body off to the side of the main path, but did not approach so as not to lose strength. It took another twenty years until in 1999, while traversing the slope from high-altitude camp 6 (8290 m) to the west, the expedition came across many bodies that had died over the past 5-10 years. Mallory was found among them.

He lay on his stomach, spread out, as if hugging a mountain, his head and arms frozen into the slope.

The video clearly shows that the climber’s tibia and fibula are broken. With such an injury, he was no longer able to continue his journey.

“They turned it over - the eyes were closed. This means that he did not die suddenly: when they break, many of them remain open. They didn’t let him down - they buried him there.”

Irving was never found, although the bandage on Mallory's body suggests that the couple were with each other until the very end. The rope was cut with a knife and, perhaps, Irving could move and, leaving his comrade, died somewhere lower down the slope.

In 1934, the Englishman Wilson made his way to Everest, disguised as a Tibetan monk, and decided to use his prayers to cultivate willpower sufficient to climb to the top. After unsuccessful attempts to reach the North Col, abandoned by the Sherpas accompanying him, Wilson died of cold and exhaustion. His body, as well as the diary he wrote, were found by an expedition in 1935.

A well-known tragedy that shocked many occurred in May 1998. Then a married couple, Sergei Arsentiev and Francis Distefano, died.

Sergey Arsentiev and Francis Distefano-Arsentiev, having spent three nights at 8,200 m (!), set out to climb and reached the summit on 05/22/2008 at 18:15. The ascent was completed without the use of oxygen. Thus, Frances became the first American woman and only the second woman in history to climb without oxygen.

During the descent, the couple lost each other. He went down to the camp. She doesn't.

The next day, five Uzbek climbers walked to the summit past Frances - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but to do this they would have to give up the climb. Although one of their comrades has already ascended, and in this case the expedition is already considered successful.

On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Frances. He took the oxygen cylinders and left. But he disappeared. Probably blew away strong wind into a two-kilometer abyss.
The next day, three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two of South Africa- 8 people! They approach her - she is already the second cold night spent, but still alive! Again everyone passes by - to the top.

“My heart sank when I realized that this man in the red and black suit was alive, but absolutely alone at an altitude of 8.5 km, just 350 meters from the summit,” recalls the British climber. “Katie and I, without thinking, turned off the route and tried to do everything possible to save the dying woman. Thus ended our expedition, which we had been preparing for years, begging money from sponsors... We did not immediately manage to get to her, although she was lying close. Moving at such an altitude is the same what to run underwater...

Having discovered her, we tried to dress the woman, but her muscles atrophied, she looked like a rag doll and kept muttering: “I am an American. Please don’t leave me”...

We dressed her for two hours. “My concentration was lost due to the bone-piercing rattling sound that broke the ominous silence,” Woodhall continues his story. “I realized: Katie is about to freeze to death herself.” We had to get out of there as soon as possible. I tried to pick Frances up and carry her, but it was no use. My futile attempts to save her put Katie at risk. There was nothing we could do."

Not a day went by that I didn't think about Frances. A year later, in 1999, Katie and I decided to try again to reach the top. We succeeded, but on the way back we were horrified to notice the body of Frances, she was lying exactly as we had left her, perfectly preserved under the influence low temperatures. No one deserves such an end. Katie and I promised each other that we would return to Everest again to bury Frances. To prepare new expedition 8 years have passed. I wrapped Frances in an American flag and included a note from my son. We pushed her body into the cliff, away from the eyes of other climbers. Now she rests in peace. Finally, I was able to do something for her."
Ian Woodhall.

A year later, Sergei Arsenyev's body was found: "I apologize for the delay in taking photographs of Sergei. We definitely saw him - I remember the purple down suit. He was in a sort of bowing position, lying just behind Jochen's 'subtle rib' in the Mallory area around 27150 feet. I think it's him." Jake Norton, member of the 1999 expedition.

But in the same year there was a case when people remained people. On the Ukrainian expedition, the guy spent a cold night almost in the same place as the American woman. His people brought him down to base camp, and then more than 40 people from other expeditions helped. He got off easy - four fingers were removed.

"Such extreme situations everyone has the right to decide: to save or not to save a partner... Above 8000 meters you are completely occupied with yourself and it is quite natural that you do not help another, since you have no extra strength.” Miko Imai.

"It is impossible to afford the luxury of morality at an altitude of more than 8,000 meters"

In 1996, a group of climbers from the Japanese University of Fukuoka climbed Everest. Very close to their route were three climbers from India in distress - exhausted, sick people caught in a high-altitude storm. The Japanese passed by. A few hours later, all three died.

I highly recommend reading the article by a participant in the Everest expedition from GEO magazine “Alone with Death”. ABOUT greatest catastrophe decades on Mt. About how, due to a bunch of circumstances, 8 people died, including two group commanders. Later, the film "Death on Everest" was made based on the author's book.

Scary footage from the Discovery Channel in the series "Everest - Beyond the Possible." When the group finds a freezing man, they film him, but are only interested in his name, leaving him to die alone in an ice cave.

“The corpses on the route are a good example and a reminder that we need to be more careful on the mountain. But every year there are more and more climbers, and according to statistics, the number of corpses will increase every year. What is unacceptable in normal life, on high altitudes is considered as the norm." Alexander Abramov.

Bodies on the way to the top:

On the trail:

“You can’t continue to climb, maneuvering between corpses, and pretend that this is in the order of things.” Alexander Abramov.