This article was translated by John R. Bopp
This is going to be one of those stories that gets people talking. Valerio Annovazzi, after summiting Gasherbrum II (G2) in the Himalayas in a team of 13 climbers, was left to his fate by his companions at Camp 3, at an elevation of 7,100m/23,300ft.
Three Basque mountaineers, Alberto Iñurrategi, Juan Vallejo, and Mikel Zabalza, found themselves at Base Camp when the expedition that had left Annovazzi behind arrived. When the three Basques found out about what had happened, and after checking with a telephoto lens that the Italian was indeed still up there, they went up to find him.
They got to him, and were with him for 12 hours to help him recover from the four days he’d survived without food or water, and with frostbite. After getting him back on his feet, they went back down the mountain, and saved him.
The media are starting to report the story; as far as we know, El País was the first. We’re interested to see how many newspapers will call them “Basque” mountaineers, and how many won’t. As we’ve said many times before, if this news were negative, we’re sure the “Basque” label wouldn’t have been forgotten by anyone, including El País.
We’re also wondering if any Italian ministers will be dedicating any tweets like the Italian defense minister did in 2014 to the fascist Italian pilot who volunteered to bomb the Basque Country in the Spanish Civil War for the pilot’s 100th birthday.
We’ll leave you with the information on the Italian mountain climbing website montagna.tv, and the report in the Italian daily La Provincia di Lecco, and, because of its worth, the article that appeared yesterday in El País, which, as we said, was the first to report on it.
Alberto Iñurrategi, Juan Vallejo, and Mikel Zabalza have proven what good people are. The question now is if the members of his expedition who left Valerio Annovazzi to his fate will have to face the consequences of their decision.
Montagna.tv – 25/7/2017 – Italia
Alpinista italiano sta male e viene abbandonato a C3 sul G2. Salvato dai baschi
Valerio Annovazzi, 59enne bergamasco, ha raggiunto nei giorni scorsi la cima del Gasherbrum II assieme ad altre 13 persone della spedizione commerciale dell’agenzia pakistana “Lela Peak expedition”, con lui un altro italiano: Gianpaolo Corona.
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La Provincia di Lecco – 26/7/2017 – Italia
Primaluna, da solo per 4 giorni Alpinista salvato sull’Himalaya
La notizia è stata lanciata ieri sera dal sito internet Montagna.Tv. L’alpinista valsassinese Valerio Annovazzi, 59 anni, residente a Primaluna, ha rischiato di morire di freddo e di inedia perché abbandonato a quota 7 mila metri, al campo 3 sul Gasherbrum, gruppo montuoso della regione Nord-Orientale del Baltoro, nella catena del Karakoram, sull’Himalaya, in Cina.
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El País – 25/7/2017 – España
Un rescate milagroso en el Gasherbrum II
En su despedida de las montañas más elevadas del planeta, Alberto Iñurrategi, Juan Vallejo y Mikel Zabalza deseaban hacer algo grande: enlazar las cumbres del Gasherbrum I (8.080 m) y Gasherbrum II (8.035 m) sin pasar por el campo base y escalando dos rutas que aún esperan su primera repetición. El domingo supieron que nunca cumplirían con dicho sueño, pero entre el lunes y este martes firmaron algo mucho más importante, un gesto de un valor inmenso: rescataron con vida a un alpinista italiano varado a 7.100 metros.
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Last Updated on Dec 20, 2020 by About Basque Country
