Monday, May 24, 2004
Rose: the Russian team includes my friend Yuri Ermachek - a phenomenal climber I got to know in 2000 in the Tien Shan, He was on the 3000m high Makalu West Face team in 97 when they cracked the 'last' great problem, and also climbed Everest in 2002 ( north ridge ). Like most Russians, humble, tough as nails and a great singer once the guitar is found. If the whol eteam is like him, they'll do it, but maybe at the cost of a life, as is traditional with many extreme projects. These guys aren t often the most technical climbers but they have an enormous amount of toughness. In 2000, he went with 2 others to climb the 3000m high north face of Kan Tengri on some chocolate, dried fruit and soup as supplies, and they departed a day after they were cauht in an avalanche (! )
