Atanas Georgiev Skatov (; 11 March 1978 – 5 February 2021) was a Bulgarian mountaineer, vegan and agronomist in plant protection.
On 24 May 2014 he claimed to have become the first known vegan to ascend Everest. His attempt was later refuted, as he admitted to having consumed honey, and currently the record is held by Kuntal Joisher. He was attempting to become the first known vegan to climb the 14 highest peaks on Earth and successfully reached the top of 10 of them; Everest (north and south routes), Manaslu, Annapurna, Makalu, Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Kangchenjunga, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, and Dhaulagiri.
On 20 June 2017, Skatov ascended Mount Denali in Alaska and became the first Bulgarian and the world's first vegan to climb successfully the Seven Summits.
He died on 5th February 2021 while descending from Camp 3 at K2 after his unsuccessful ascent.
Biography
Atanas Skatov was born on 11 March 1978. In 2001, he graduated from the Agricultural University in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and held a master's degree in plant protection. During his study he gained two scholarships, allowing him to study for two semesters at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. From 2001 to 2004, he was a full-time PhD student, in the departments of both horticulture and phytomedicine (plant protection). In February 2005, he received a Doctorate degree in Agricultural Science after successfully presenting his dissertation on “Integrated Tomato Production (Lycopersicon esculentum) in a glasshouse with an emphasis on integrated and biological pest control against the greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum westwood)”.
In 2015, he published his first book "The Mother Goddess of the Universe". At the same time his first documentary movie: Skatov, The Experiment, Episode 1: The First Vegan on Everest was released. Skatov has published scientific articles in Bulgaria and abroad.
Skatov claimed that he had never been on a mountain until 2010 and had not been an active sports person before 2012. However, he made history by becoming the first known person on a vegan diet to successfully climb the highest summits on six continents in less than two years, including four eight – thousanders in a week apiece. Additionally, he holds the distinction of being the first Bulgarian mountaineer to participate in four expeditions to climb eight-thousanders in a single season.
Skatov became a vegan in January 2012.
In 2015, Skatov was awarded a “Honorary Citizen” of Sliven, Bulgaria.
In 2018, Skatov climbed the sixth highest peak on the planet Cho Oyu (8188 m) without supplemental oxygen and received the Golden Bulgaria badge for Best Athlete of May.
In 2019, Skatov was awarded the Green Person of Bulgaria for 2019.
In 2020, Skatov published his first book in English - The First Vegan on Everest.
November 2020 saw the release of Skatov's 7th book which is dedicated to SE7EN SUMMITS VEGAN project.
Scientific research
Skatov has conducted scientific researches in areas such as: Morphology; bio ecology and controlling horticultural pests on crops (Trialeurodes vaporariorum westwood, Tetranychus urticae koch, Bradysia difformis frey, Myzus persicae sulzer, Aphis gossypi glover, etc.); Insecticidal effect of certain plant extracts, such as: pine oil, castor oil, lavender oil, quasi (Quassia amara), pyrethrum, azadirachtine, etc.; Beneficial insects: Encarsia formosa Gahan, Macrolophus pygmaeus Rambur, Dacnusa sibirica Telenga, Lysiphlebus testacepies Cresson, Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot, etc.; Entomopathogenic fungi - Verticillium lecanii (Zimmerman) Viegas; Pests in stored products; Hydroponic methods of growing crops in greenhouses.
Mountaineering career
Until 2012, he had never participated in any sports competitions. He started in the summer of 2010, when for the first time he hiked the Kom-Emine trail. Later in 2011 and 2012 he repeated the hike, captivated by the magic of the mountain. In the mountains, he considered what could be done for the safety of the planet. Since 2000 he had been concerned that the world's population is constantly growing and that agricultural area is limited.
At the end of 2011 he had the idea to become a vegan and to climb the highest peaks on all continents as well as all eight–thousanders. In that way, he combined veganism and mountaineering in his first Project: Climbing the highest peaks on all seven continents as a vegan. In less than two years he reached the highest summits of all seven continents.