Antonina Samoilova, the only climber from Ukraine this Spring has successfully summited Everest at 5.30 in the morning of May 12. She has dedicated her feat to fellow Ukranians fighting against Russian invasion. She had unfurled Ukraine’s flag from the top of the world in an appeal for peace.
“I’m unbelievably happy,” Samoilova told Everest Chronicle from the base camp,“I was very happy and proud to bring the flag of my country to the top. My first thought on reaching the top of the world was disbelief that it was me because I still wasn’t so confident until camp 4. I had never been higher than 6,000m before. It took me ten hours to reach the summit, ” she added.
She stayed at the top for an hour, “taking pictures and videos, observing the view,” she said. Samoilova safely arrived at the Everest base camp on Friday afternoon a day after her summit. It was the first ascent of eight-thousander peak for the 33-year-old who had previously climbed smaller peaks like Mt Vinson and Elbrus.
Samoilova is the lone climber from Ukraine to make it to the Everest expedition this year. Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks said that at least 25 Ukrainian climbers canceled their pre-bookings due to the war. Ukraine has been closed off from the world for months owing to the Russian invasion. Samoillova was in Mexico climbing Mt. Pico de Orizaba when the war broke out in her home country. She hasn’t been able to go to her country, and it is unclear how long she will have to wait before she can finally share her summit victory with her family and friends on her home soil.
Samoilova’s successful summit has historical significance as the war in Europe between the two countries rages on. In an interview with the Everest Chronicle before her summit, Samoilova had described her summit bid as a symbol of ‘invincibility of Ukrainian spirit’.
Samoilova climbed the peak with the help of two climbers deployed by 14 Peaks Expedition, her organizer based in Kathmandu. She said that she consumed 7 bottles of supplementary oxygen during her summit in order to avoid altitude sickness.
Samoilova was part of an 11-member expedition of Mount Everest, according to the 14 Peaks Expedition.
For several months now, Ukraine has been resisting Russia’s invasion in a war that has resulted in thousands of deaths on both sides and displaced millions of people. The war has brought several cities to ruins and displaced around 7.1 million Ukrainians, nearly 16 percent of the country’s population, according to UN estimates.
The war in Ukraine has also affected this year’s expeditions to the Himalayas, according to multiple expedition agencies. Only 317 climbers have taken permits to climb Everest as of May 8, far fewer than the record-setting 409 permits issued last year.
Besides Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s stringent Covid-19 policies, and the budget related constraints for India’s civil servants are also believed to have affected the season.
Nearly 300 climbers have successfully climbed Everest in the last four days, according to liaison officer Khimlal Gautam.
Other high profile summiteers including Kami Rita Sherpa, Lhakpa Rita Sherpa and six of ten climbers in a historical first all black expedition successfully made it to the summit of Mount Everest, expedition organizers said.
