Semyon Dvornichenko: About the first speed ascent to Lenin Peak, 2012

Semyon Dvornichenko: About the first speed ascent to Lenin Peak, 2012

NEED TO PUT NEW GOALS, TO LOOK FORWARD

Semyon Dvornichenko reports, Red Fox Asia team

We wake up at three and start moving at four, but it is not an easy start and you can hardly say that we are moving at all. I program myself to make the minimum as possible – at least reach the summit anyhow, or in the worst scenario get there in 10 hours.

We stand behind the start line waiting the flag signal to start moving. The flag drops and we run up and down like untamed horses. Up and down, up and down, trying to keep good pace up hills and even faster on the descents.

Flashlights spark in the darkness. Everyone follows the chosen path. You can hear Sergey, who put on his crampons right at the start. His “quiet flight” in crampons stepping on the stones will never be forgotten by the sleeping inhabitants of the first camps. I speed up, warm my body and take a deep breath. Feel myself not that bad. I stopped at the usual spot to put on my crampons and keep on running. Of course it was not “running” at all, but “hard steps”. It’s hard, hard to go up. All I could do at this moment is to be patient, only to be patient. I pull myself onto the “pan” (plateau) and see two small “dots”, close to the camp 2. I keep on moving without having a break at the second camp. Now I can see one of the “dots” sitting and doing something at the slope. It would be silly not to take the advantage of my opponent break in my favor. I ran. Just 20 meters separate me from Nikolai Totmyanin, and I see him standing up and moving forward. For me, 20 meters is not a distance! Now It’s possible to shorten it. I make it! At the middle of the slope I’ve outran him and became the second.

Descent to the camp 3. There I really ran, hoping that Max Cherkasov would stop in the camp. Coming closer to the tents, I see that he just started to go up to 6400. Here it is, a moment. The moment when you realize that “we have it in the bag”! I come up to the tents, feeling like a Formula One car on a pit stop. I stopping, taking a mug with tea, getting a couple of sips, at the same time I’m asking for getting my glasses from a backpack pocket, without looking I’m giving a mug back, putting my glasses on, lamenting out loud that the rivals are too strong (censored version). The whole stop was not more than 10 seconds. Going further.

Need to catch up.

At the middle of the slope, which leads to 6400, I see a joyful picture: Maks, peeking me out, stops to look back. It was a bad idea. Very bad idea. He realized that I’ll catch him up even with not speeding up. So the way to 6400. I’m the first. Good mood. Saving my power. I came up to parachutist plateau (almost 7000). I see finish a bit higher. Tent, “finish” sign.

Time? 6:32. It’s crazy. Having tea. Ascension. Time is too good. Summit. 7:10. Sitting, philosophizing how it happened. I’m deciding to have a rest for 2 hours and then ascent the summit again with Dasha, as I promised her before the start. I’m coming back to the tent, just going to have a rest, but I see Dasha. Oh, God! She’s fast! I deceived the girl, did not drive to the top. We went together down.

Just when descending the first camp, I realized that it became empty inside.

NEED TO PUT NEW GOALS, TO LOOK FORWARD!