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EVEREST, BASQUE EXPEDITION 1980 – A WHOLE PEOPLE AT THE SUMMIT
Everest, Basque expedition 1980 – a whole town on the summit, Ramon Olasagasti, César Llaguno: On May 14, 1980 Martin Zabaleta reached the summit of Everest, the summit where the world ends. It was the triumph of the Basque expedition that had traveled an arduous and long road, from the search for financing, with a first unsuccessful attempt with the Tximist expedition, to the falls, cracks, winds, snow and other inconveniences that the mountain caused, passing for the moments of discouragement, failures, fears … It was a real feat, a job in which they formed a compact, involved and supportive team, both expeditionaries and Sherpas. “Martín, the forces are in the head,” Xabier Garaioa told him from Zabaleta base camp when, together with Sherpa Pasang Temba, he was near the summit, both exhausted after bivouacking in a crack. Everest wanted to charge them with their lives for the conquest, but those words, together with the help of the whole group, avoided the tragedy. In addition, Martin Zabaleta had extra support, because that day in May 1980 the whole of Euskal Herria climbed with him to the summit of Everest.
