User:Blazpetrich/Žiga Petrič

Žiga Petrič, born 1971, was a Slovenian mountain climber who died on the night between 4th and 5th of October 1996 in the west face of mountain Kabru, in the Eastern Nepal.

Petrič, was born in Ljubljana on 12th of July 1971 to parents Jure and Slavica Petrič. As a young boy he would start hiking with his father Jure in the Julian Alps and Kamnik-Savinja Alps. That would eventually lead him to find interest in rock climbing and alpine climbing. Žiga was very close with his two brothers Matija (7th of September, 1977) and Blaž (6th of March, 1987). He would often take them on his climbing trainings in different areas around Slovenia, his favourite being in Mišja Peč.

Although he was, because of his height and muscular build, at first advised against a pursuit of career in climbing, where the ideal height is usually around 172 cm (5 ft 8 in). Petrič, who was about 15 cm (6 in) above the desired height and even more importantly well above desired weight and muscle mass, nevertheless became known as a determined and extremely driven individual and did not listen to the recommendation of his elder peers. With sheer focus, rigorous physical training and vegetarian diet he managed to climb consistently, sometimes up to three routes per day, achieving a status as one of the most promising young talents, first on a local level and eventually in European alpinism, with the goal to one day receive the Piolet d'Or award. The highest honour in mountaineering and climbing, an award Slovenian climbers managed to achieve numerous times, including its inauguration.

In 1994 Žiga, together with Tadej Golob, attempted to climb Hiunchuli (6441 m, 21,132 ft). The two have successfully climbed in the Alps, including two new routes on Macesnovec (1926 m, 6319 ft). However, because there was no snow on the East Face of the Hiunchuli, they attempted the South Face of Singuchuli (6501 m, 21,329 ft), also located in the Massif of Annapurna (8091 m, 26,545 ft), where they were first stopped by food poisoning and then by bad conditions. Unsatisfied with the result and his partner, Petrič then completed a solo climb on Tharpu Chuli (5695 m, 18684 ft), another peak in the Annapurna sanctuary.

After that unsuccessful attempt, that ended relationship with his climbing partner Golob, Žiga found a new partner in Bojan Počkar (March 17, 1963). Bojan was the elder of the two and brought a more wise and calm approach to the team, having climbed already numerous times in Himalayas, Andes and central Alps. Together they climbed new routes in Breithorn (4164 m,13661 ft) on 5th of august, Nadelhorn (4327 m, 14196 ft) on 28th of November in 1995 and Weisshorn (4506 m, 14783 ft) in June of 1996. On September of 1995 Petrič and Počkar arrived in Nepal with the mission to finish the uncompleted attempt of Petrič's first trip to Himalayas the year before. On the 7th of October 1995 they managed to reach the top of the Himalayan peak Singuchuli (6501 m, 21329 ft). They named the new route Perun route after an ancient Slavic God of thunder, sky and lighting. Počkar wrote about the expedition:

"''Singuchuli, East Face. Until our visit, the east face of Singuchuli remained unclimbed. The face is 1450 meters high with an average angle of approximately 65°, and characterized by narrow couloirs, especially in upper part of the face. Over the east face hang huge seracs. We set up base- camp at approximately 4250 meters on the right moraine of West Annapurna Glacier. Ziga Petric and I started the ascent on October 6 at 9 p.m. from the tent we had on the glacier (5000 meters). At 9:30 p.m.we started to climb the east face (5050 meters). We proceeded straight into the real face and climbed continuously during the night until 6:30 a.m. on October 7. The face became steeper and steeper (70°), and the last three pitches we belayed. The climbing was mostly mixed, 80° ice and grade IV rock. We rested and cooked until 11:30 a.m. and then proceeded to climb. The last three pitches were the hardest: mixed climbing with some pure rock passages (90°) and a very unstable ridge. We climbed in pure alpine-style. All together we belayed just six pitches; the rest we soloed. We were on the top of Singuchuli (6501 meters) at 3 p.m., waited half an hour for pictures and at 3:30 p.m. started the descent. We rappelled the line of ascent. We rappelled three-quarters of the face and the last quarter we climbed down freely. At 8:30 p.m. we were at our tent on the glacier. The next day, October 8, we descended to basecamp. We named the route Perun's Route and graded it VI+ 90°''."



After the successful tour the year before, Petrič and eight years older Počkar decided to return to Himalayas less than a year later. This time they were accompanied by a doctor Anda Perdan who was recommended to the team by Tone Škarja. one of the key figures in Slovenian Himalayan success story. Žiga Petrič, Bojan Počkar and dr. Anda Perdan arrived at the base camp at the East Kumbhakarna Mountain or Jannu (7710 m, 25,300 ft), important western outlier of the world's third highest peak Kangchenjunga (8586 m, 28,169 ft), on September 27, 1996. Kangchenjunga was considered the highest mountain until 1852 when recalculations were made and resulted in K2 (8586 metres (28,169ft) and Mt. Everest (8,848 m, 29,029 ft) topping it, however it remained one of the toughest tests and deadliest peaks for Alpine climbers until this day. During the typical acclimatisation climb on Kabru Mountain, which has a direct view on the east side of Kangchenjunga Žiga and Bojan went missing after failing to report to their base camp. On 17th of October the camp was dismissed and they were pronounced dead with the cause being stated as an avalanche on the night between 4th and 5th of October, 1996.    Žiga was only 25 years old.

Dr. Anda Perdan, who also took the last picture of the two climbers before they disappeared into the night, wrote about her first and unfortunately tragic expidition in the Himalayas:

" Mount Kabru, Attempt and Tragedy. The members of the Slovenian expedition to Mount Kumbhakarna East (a.k.a. Jannu East, 7468 m) in the fall were Bojan Pockar, leader, Ziga Petric and Anda Perdan, the doctor. Bojan and Ziga were planning to climb the still- unclimbed Mount Kumbhakarna East via the east face (1950 m) in alpine style. The expedition ended very sadly with the deaths of both alpinists Bojan Pockar and Ziga Petric. They died because of a snowslide.

''We reached Base Camp on the East Kumbhakarna Glacier (5300 m) on September 27. The accident happened on the hillside of Mt. Kabru (7353 m) on October 5. Bojan and Ziga were on Mt. Kabru to acclimatize and to get a better view of the east face of Mount Kumbhakarna East. When the accident happened the weather had changed suddenly. It was snowing''."

Petrič and Počkar bodies were never found. They have a memorial that is located on the route that leads to Mangart Pass (2072 m, 6798 ft), a mountain saddle in the Julian Alps, near to where Petrič together with Tadej Golob climbed a new route on Kotova Spica (2376 m, 7795 ft) in august of 1993. Petrič also has a memorial in Žale Central Cemetery in Ljubljana. Žiga Petrič was a student of Faculty of Sport at University of Ljubljana. Besides different styles of climbing, he was also practicing different skiing styles as well as being an enthusiastic parachuter and a basketball fan, naming Julius Erving and Magic Johnson as some of his favourite NBA players. He enjoyed bands such as Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and especially Guns 'n' Roses, even naming a route on Nadelhorn after their song November Rain. One of the last music albums he was listening to was Smash by The Offspring. He drove a navy blue Zastava 101.