Valery Bachurin, a 38-year-old Russian mountaineering enthusiast, knows no fear. His relentless pursuit of self-challenge has earned him widespread respect.
Valery works in the railway sector. One day, he fainted while on the job. After examination, doctors discovered he suffered from arrhythmia and tachycardia, among other conditions, requiring surgical treatment. The doctors performed two surgeries in total and warned him that mountaineering posed significant risks. Yet, just 25 days after being discharged from the hospital, Valery set off toward a high mountain.
Known as the "Bleeding Peak," Khan Tengri Mountain, standing at an altitude of 7,000 meters, has claimed the lives of countless climbers. Nevertheless, Valery and his team successfully reached the summit.
"I didn't even bring any medication," Valery said. "I believed in myself, tried not to think about the difficulties, and had only the goal of reaching the summit in my mind. The dream of conquering this high mountain kept me climbing. There was another climbing team with us, but when the weather suddenly turned bad at 5,000 meters with a sudden snowstorm and almost zero visibility, they decided not to take the risk and descended. We waited in the tent for the snowstorm to ease, then continued climbing and eventually reached the summit. Fortunately, we succeeded."
During the climb (10 hours up, 6 hours down, with temperatures consistently below minus 15 degrees), his teammates were constantly worried about Valery's health, never knowing what might happen.
"My teammates often asked me: 'Valery, how are you? Are you okay?'" Valery said. "I would just smile and reply: 'I'm fine, don't wait for me.'"
After successfully reaching the summit and returning home, the first thing Valery did was show the photos he took at the 7,000-meter peak to his doctors, who were astonished.
"We found no complications," said Valery's surgeon, Alexander Karavaev. "Just as Valery himself has proven, physical exercise is not dangerous for his body."
Valery has been physically active since childhood, and he plans to climb more high peaks in the future. His dream is to conquer Mount Everest, and in the near future, he and his team will set off toward this new goal.