Igor Svergun (February 10, 1966, Korocha, Belgorod Oblast, USSR – on the night of June 23, 2013, Nanga Parbat, terrorist attack) – Soviet and Ukrainian climber, USSR Master of Sports in mountaineering (1989), USSR Snow Leopard award, USSR master of sports at the international level (1991), instructor-methodologist of the 3rd category.
Beginning of sports career
Igor's passion for mountaineering sparked during his school years under the guidance of his mentor, Georgiy Kardash..., a dedicated physical education teacher. At the age of 18, Igor wholeheartedly embraced mountaineering as his lifelong pursuit. He began his journey by conquering Semenov-Bashi, a peak of 3602m, and went on to achieve remarkable ascents of numerous eight-thousanders.
In his student years in 1990, he became a member of the Kharkiv Mountaineering Club and began training under the guidance of Sergey Bershov (Master of Sports of the USSR, Snow Leopard). Bershov and Svergun became friends and climbing partners, together they made many ascents, including the eight-thousanders Lhotse in 1990, Everest and Kangchenjunga. From Bershov's memoirs:"With Igor Svergun we were 23 years (!) were a climbing pair."
"The guy had a character to spare, he wanted to be the first, to achieve more."
"What distinguished him? Well, first of all, he was the youngest – 24 years old. Like me once, he also engaged in mountaineering and rock climbing, which always gives an advantage on ascents. He stood out for his determination. And he also played the guitar, knew many beautiful songs – mountaineering, bard, folk. And the guitarist is always the soul of the company."
"Igor set a goal for himself: to become a high-class, successful, in-demand mountain guide – and he did. He learned English, graduated from the master's program of the Kharkiv Academy of Physical Culture in the specialty "Olympic and professional sports". He could not live without mountains, without travel. He loved it. He, like me, did not work, but was engaged in his favorite thing. Very professionally, thoughtfully, focusing on safety. How many times on the same Elbrus we turned clients down, not agreeing, understanding each other with a half-glance. Nothing surprising. When you have been walking in a climbing pair for 23 years, decisions are made the same without any words. Just as we have long been bypassing words, securing each other. You just know – there is no more reliable."
Sports achievements
Igor Svergun's best ascent include:
1990: marking a significant milestone in his mountaineering career-ports achievements – as part of Sergey Bershov's team in the most severe weather conditions – the first ascent of the South Face of Lhotse (8,516m) up to an altitude of 8,200m. Numerous climbers attempted this route unsuccessfully, including Reinhold Messner who had to retreat three times. It was one of those ascents that Igor cherished the most and took immense pride in. 1991: Completed the traverse of Manaslu with Viktor Pastukh and Alexey Makarov. 1992: Summited Everest's South Peak at 8790 meters. 1994: Conquered Dhaulagiri. 1996: Ascended Annapurna via Bonington Route, alongside Sergey Bershov and Sergey Kovalev, as part of the Ukrainian State Sports Committee expedition led by Mstyslav Gorbenko. Shishapangma (alpine style). Other notable ascents include: 1998: Ama Dablam. 1998: Pumori. 2004: Cho Oyu. 2005, 2006: Everest via the Northeast Ridge.
In 1999, during the "Ukraine – Everest-99" expedition, Igor took part in one of the most challenging rescue operations, transporting climber V. Horbach from an altitude of 8600m to the summit.
In 2008, as part of an expedition organized by the Kharkiv Regional Mountaineering Club, Svergun successfully climbed Gasherbrum II (with Sergey Bershov and Alexey Bokov) via the classic route. Before the ascent, they erected a memorial plaque at the mountain's base to honor two Ukrainian climbers: Viktor Pastukh from Kharkiv and Gennadiy Vasilenko from Crimea, who perished in 1996 during an attempt to conquer Shishapangma.
Igor Svergun twice summited Everest and reached many of the world's eight-thousanders. In 1990, he participated in the Soviet expedition led by A. Shevchenko, climbing Lhotse's Main Peak via the South Face, a route hailed by Reinhold Messner as the route of the 21st century. According to Igor:"This ascent became my calling card. Whenever I meet fellow climbers, mentioning 'Lhotse' elicits genuine admiration. The climb was incredibly challenging. We weren't prepared for everything we encountered. The books tell a different story."Among his other achievements are 25 routes of the 6th category of difficulty.