Ukrainian mountaineers Grigory Grigoryev and Alexander Zakolodny die in Russia-Ukraine war

In war, death is almost a certitude. Every man and every woman who falls in battle, regardless of what front they are on, becomes a statistic. It's the faces and names behind these numbers that make the difference, the stories hidden behind every person who falls in fight. The devastating news from Ukraine today is that the two well-known, highly talented mountaineers Alexander Zakolodny and Grigory Grigoryev have died. The news was broken by the Járkov Alpine Club. The mountaineers lost their lives on 21 January close to the city of Soledar, a strategic stronghold in the Russia-Ukraine war located in the province of Donetsk.

After the outbreak of war, by now almost a year ago, the two mountaineers chose to abandon their ice axes and crampons, to give up on their lofty high-altitude dreams, and instead to don camouflage and carry a rifle. Both aged 35, Grigoryev and  Zakolodny were lifelong friends and climbing partners. They spent a lot of time together, and together they chose to take up arms. A decision that, according to report by friends on social media, was made immediately after the Russian invasion. Even during the war they remained united, and together they fought to defend their country. Bound by an invisible rope and a knot evidently impossible to untie, they got each other's backs, shared memorable moments, recollections of a distant peace , shed tears, shared despair. Together they perished in the same battle. Their bodies, like those of the other soldiers who died at Soledar, have not been recovered.

Alexander Zakolodny and Grigory Grigoryev - a partnership for life
Alexander Zakolodny was a top-notch Himalayan mountaineer, an expert at climbing at high altitudes, where the air becomes too thin for comfort. He had taken part in several expeditions to high 8000ers and his battle name, Rock, said it all. During his mountaineering career he reached the summit of the five 7000ers located in the former USSR territories, a feat that earned him the Snow Leopard accolade. In 2010 he ventured onto the slopes of Manaslu as a member of a Ukrainian expedition which succeeded in forging a new route up the SW Face. A singular moment in his life is connected to his Nanga Parbat attempt in summer 2013, when the Fairy Meadows base camp was attacked by terrorists. Eleven people lost their lives and when Zakolodny descended from an acclimatisation round on the mountain, he returned to base camp to face a gruesome scenario comprised of blood and pain. Three climbing partners from the Járkov Alpine Club lost their lives in the attack. The club had always been pivotal in Zakolodny's life; he invested much of his energies promoting mountaineering in Ukraine, and before the war he was vice president of the Mountaineering and Climbing Federation of Ukraine.

Grigory Grigoryev was one of Zakolodny's best friends. The two had known each other for thirty years. A great all-rounder, Grigoryev was a formidable mountaineer, marathon runner and cyclist. He loved pushing himself outdoors. His passions included triathlon, and often he put himself to the the test physically and mentally in utterly demanding competitions. His dream was to take up runing again, and he'd already made concrete plans: a marathon when the war had finally come to an end, perhaps together with his lifelong friend Alexander.

by Gian Luca Gasca