Piolet d'Or Asia won by Denis Urubko and Gennadiy Durov for Pik Pobeda

Take two! Denis Urubko has just repeated his 2009 success and doubled his takings by winning the Piolet d'Or Asia for the second time for the route established last August on Pik Pobeda. He raised the golden ice axe - awarded to the best Asian mountaineering undertaking - together with Gennadiy Durov and their summit was the crowning moment of a dream Urubko had touted with for almost twenty years: he had scoped the dangerous and ambitious line up the immense mountain in Kirghizistan's Kokshaal Too mountain range along with Simone Moro back in 1993. The route is called Dollar Rod, is marked by a difficult and extremely dangerous lower section, and was climbed in 6 days and graded 6b, the highest on the Russian grading scale. Obviously the route was climbed in extremely lightweight, alpine style up the 7439m high mountain which, given its latitude, is no less fearsome than the world's hardest 8000m peaks.

With this second Piolet d'Or Asia, after his 2009 success for the new route up Cho Oyu together with Borish Dedeshko which also netted them the "classic" Piolet d'Or, Urubko adds another chapter to his great mountaineering story. This includes all fourteen 8000ers, three of which via new routes (Broad Peak in 2005 with Serguey Samoilov, Manaslu in 2006 with Samoilov once again and Cho Oyu in 2009 with Borish Dedeshko), as wall as the two great first winter ascents, Makalu in 2009 with Simone Moro sul Makalu and Gasherbrum II this year with Moro and Cory Richards. And this story about an ace mountaineer will continue in winter, once again with Simone Moro and Cory Richards, as the three now have their sights set on the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat.


Denis Urubko and the 14 8000m peaks
02/2011 Gasherbrum II – first winter ascent with Simone Moro and Cory Richards
05/2009 Cho Oyu - new route SE Face
02/2009 Makalu - first winter ascent together with Simone Moro
10/2007 K2 - N Face Japanese route together with Serguey Samoilov
02/2007 Dhaulagiri - normal route
05/2006 Manaslu - new route NE Face together with Serguey Samoilov
07/2005 Broad Peak - new route SW Face together with Serguey Samoilov
05/2004 Annapurna
07/2003 Broad Peak - normal route
06/2003 Nanga Parbat - Kinshoffer route
10/2002 Shisha Pangma - Main and Central summit
05/2002 Kangchenjunga - normal route SW Face
08/2001 Gasherbrum II - normal route
08/2001 Gasherbrum I - Japanese coloir
05/2001 Lhotse - normal route
05/2000 Everest - normal route from south