Rugilė, 17, climbed Mont Blanc: “It is a very strange feeling when there is no air” | Lifetime

Mont Blanc in the Alps is 4,810 meters high. It is found in two countries: France and Italy, and a group of eight Lithuanians climbed from the French side.

Rugilė’s travel guide was his father Svajūnas, who has led small groups to the top in recent years. This trip is one of them, but this time it was different, because the daughter of Svajūnas climbed together.

According to S.Paukštaitis, Rugilė became one of the youngest climbers to beat Mont Blanc. “I don’t think there are any official statistics based on the age of climbers, but people usually start mountaineering from 16-17 years old,” said S. Pauksštaitis.

15 min LIFE conversation with Rugile, his father Svajūnas and his mother Irma – about challenges and discoveries, happiness and fear in the mountains, about a family where active life is daily.

– As for the fact that Rugilė became one of the youngest, and perhaps even the first Lithuanian to climb Mont Blanc in that year, it would be necessary to start the conversation not from this mountain, but from Rugilė in general. His hobbies are climbing, climbing, sports, swamps.

Rugilė: Our family has always been like this, active. From an early age, my parents took me on a trip together.

Irma I remember when I was very young, I went up to the section at home. I come to the room, no boy. I raise my head – in the section.

When Rugile was about seven years old, she was the first of her age to cross the “Sendero de los Reyes” in Spain. It is a challenging and long hiking trail. With the roads and cliffs collapsed at an altitude of about 100 meters, we all walked together for almost six hours.

Rugilė: Later I asked to be allowed to enter the Sleeping Elephants, where there are walls to climb. I always liked climbing.

Dream: He does a lot of sports, he runs, he belongs to the Riflemen’s Union. Incidentally, our entire family belongs to the Rifle Union. Rugilė is very resistant.

At the age of ten, she jumped with a rope from a 35-meter-high tower in Poland, and then was one of the top six in her age group at the European Climbing Championship.

– Rugile, how did you decide to climb Mont Blanc?

Rugilė: Dad brought the band together and there was a vacancy.

– The name of this mountain is also known to those who are not interested in mountaineering. How complicated is it anyway?

Dream: It is heavy due to its height, and there are long distances. It is a mountain that you cannot reach, like some Poles roller coasterwith gunpowder, go up. Onset of altitude sickness, shortness of breath, shortness of breath. Before that, you have to do adaptive walks to enter that mountain. This is not a mountain from which to begin to know the mountains.

– Rugilė has been in the mountains before. What is the top you climbed to?

Rugilė: Probably to Mount Rysi in Slovakia. 2500 meters approx.

– It’s complicated?

Rugilė: No. Well, there are some of them. open spaces.

Dream: But with Rugile, we have been in the Tatra Mountains in Poland and Slovakia in really difficult weather conditions. Height doesn’t only matter. For example, you may enter a snow storm.

Rugilė was always like this screwdriver. Men get tired as she leaves. I see that when you get tired, I say: already near the house, you hold on. And her puffs

Rugilė was always like this screwdriver. Men get tired as she leaves.

So I know exactly that it will go as far as necessary. He had no doubt that she would enter. He knew he would if the weather allowed it. He has stubbornness and will, he does not give in to panic, fear.

– Rugile, the question may sound strange, but aren’t you afraid?

Rugilė: Than?

– Well, do you like to fall?

Rugilė: I don’t see any reason why I should fall there. I just go and don’t think about those things.

– And what do you think?

Rugilė: That has to go on.

Dream: There were times when there were fears. I saw him out of sight. But there are no easy mountains. If you say that one mountain is lighter than another, it is a fairy tale. Anything can happen anywhere, and the second or third time you come to the same mountain you will see it completely different.

Rugilė: I remember walking on the cliffs. You cannot stop because it is dangerous and the tears accumulate in your eyes. They are just emotions, not fear. But yes, it was clear that there were also fears.

– Dreams, you led a group of seven people. But how do you know that everyone will enter, that there will be someone who will not want to continue the journey?

Dream: As I said, before climbing Mont Blanc, we do an adaptive walk. This is a very difficult day hike. We went up to the glacier, spent the night there. And on that walk Everything is visible. If someone complains, cries, it is clear that they cannot climb.

On that walk, everyone opens their eyes: people realize that danger is always present in the mountains, that it is not safe there. There is no stable zone in the mountains.

– How was it this time? Sulipo The whole group?

Dream: Yes, but there were very good conditions, good weather. This is the most important thing, so keep an eye on the weather forecast all the time. Boarding is not always possible and not for everyone. Let’s say I know that there are people trying to climb for the fifth consecutive year and not reaching the top. Montana it does not allow.

Irma You go up for the fourth time and you always go up. That mountain loves you.

Dream: And I love it.

– Irma, you didn’t drive this time, but how does it feel to free your daughter? It is quite different when they are together, but when they are thousands of kilometers apart …

Irma I thought: maybe Rugilė shouldn’t throw? But I realize I can’t stop her. All kinds of thoughts. But I calmed down: After all, Svajūnas will not take risks when his daughter is around.

Errors here are very costly.

Dream: It’s not a bad turn and come back if you see that don’t stick. Errors here are very costly.

– Rugile, how did it go, how do you remember climbing? And what was difficult?

Rugilė: It was hard for me because the whole movement was in a group. This means that you have to take care of not only yourself but also others, you have to think not only about yourself but also about others. After that, of course, the height. Cliffs? Maybe not. You go, and everything, there is not much there, look at those cliffs. And what fall there?

It was difficult adapting to the group because I’m more alone anyway. They also wanted not to disappoint the group, they did not want to be the weakest of the group. There was still uncertainty.

Dream: It was difficult due to the long lapse of time. The storm itself lasted 17-18 hours, so we were asleep.

Rugilė: Yes, he felt sleep deprived.

– Rugile, you say you need to take care of others. What do you have in mind?

Rugilė: They are all tied with a rope. If you feel the other swinging, you should tighten the rope.

Dream: For example, when a person walks a log through a river. You can hold on to a small tree branch that doesn’t help you with anything, but it goes more easily through the registry. Even here, the string tension stabilizes.

Rugilė: Or tell a partner where to put a foot, how to climb. I attended climbing training for many years, so these skills were maintained. Know the technique.

Dream: This helps a lot.

– Part of the climb to Mont Blanc – and the steep rock to be overcome. How long did you hit her?

Dream: We climbed a 700 meter high rock for about six hours. You must make sure that the stones do not roll, see what rises above you, what is behind. He keeps the rope in his hands all the time, uses additional guards, for example, to throw it through a stone, so that if someone falls, the rope will stop and will not pull everyone.

– And how do your future mother and wife feel at home?

Irma This time there was not much communication, it was that he had no knowledge all day. You can go crazy. He wrote that after seven hours he would write from above. I calculated that I should receive the message in about 10 hours, I only received it in 4 hours.

– Rugile, so did you imagine climbing?

Rugilė: I figured it would be easier. I thought there would be more just by walking: lighter, mountain roads. But there were not only great distances, but also rocks and cliffs. I hadn’t experienced that much before.

– And shortness of breath?

Rugilė: It felt. I thought I had to get to the top as soon as possible, and it would get better. And the top was the worst. Very strange feeling when there is shortness of breath. After all, you are used to breathing normally, and there you begin to feel that you are breathing. nothing unable to breathe normally. You still have to move, so the exercise adds up.

Dream: Rugile had altitude sickness about 4 kilometers away. It is the kind of feeling when a person is a little bit intoxicated.

There were not only long distances, but also rocks and cliffs. I hadn’t experienced that much before.

– But when you climb the mountain, do you bribe the images?

Rugilė: Alright, now that I’m back, I realized that I’m not back yet of those beautiful images.

– The mountain is said to work its way.

Dream: It works for a long time.

Rugilė: Distances are measured completely differently.

Dream: Everything agitated. You understand how small you are, how many things in the world are not important. It is as if you were in euphoria all the time. These are the limits of survival, all close. You think: and there is nothing bigger.

Rugilė: Mountains are meditation, there is no more stress on them. When I reached the top, it seemed that time had stopped. I am very emotional. There you really understand how small you are. Maybe there you understand what you really need. You start not looking at other things, like when you try to look beautiful in front of something or try to please someone. There you understand it: and why? The most important thing is to please yourself. People there seem to be happier, more relaxed. And you’ll have to go back to the same gloomy room …

Irma Why – gloomy?

Rugilė: … to the same reality.

– Dreams, and how do you feel when you take your daughter to the mountains? There is a difference?

Dream: There is. I shortened the rope, keeping it closer. It seems that you are doing your best to be part of the whole band. And in your mind you realize that you are doing for Rugilė to lift her up. Just before the summit we exchanged, I let him move on. She herself first went up the hill and up, started all over again.

– Do you doubt if it will be more difficult to take Rugil together?

Dream: For his no. I doubted myself because you are overwhelmed by emotions. You know that everyone should be careful that there are dangers, there are all kinds of situations. You must take care of the group support, the motivation and you must still take care of the child. These are additional emotions for you.

Understand that this is not a game, you need to know that your child will be back. After all, it’s not just about scaling a clan. You go up and down another 4-5 hours. This is also dangerous. I cannot set a goal for myself: I will start because it is my ambition here. I cannot take risks. But marrying Rugile was easy for me, it was easy. Everything is in people’s minds as much as in themselves. impressionsas much as you want to see that summit.

Once in a group there was a girl who in no way agreed to go down, there was nothing she could do with herself. I had to call a helicopter.

Rugilė: Facing such a mountain, you have to face various difficult situations. To find out how you react to panic. Because if you deal with yourself, I think you will go up.

You have to lock yourself up, don’t think about the bad things that can happen. Every second, get motivated to keep going, there is little left.

Dream: And it doesn’t come out fast.

Rugilė: It doesn’t come out fast.

Dreamer: Weather and fitness are important when climbing.

Very strange feeling when there is shortness of breath.

– And when you land, what emotions?

Rugilė: Fatigue.

Dream: The excitement at the top is greater.

Irma When they landed, I had the most excitement. That is already safe. But I know that Rugilė is not scared. I don’t know what she feels inside.

Dream: Once received tension and barter.

Irma Why did you yell at the boy?

Dream: The stick was broken, not locked properly. Such details in the mountains are very important. This can be a fatal mistake. But you don’t collect nice words for anyone there. You say how it is. And strictly

Rugilė: Everything went and went. Maybe you didn’t have to be so strict …

– Mountains are not for everyone, right? Not everyone, even in good physical shape, can get on them?

Dream: Not for everyone. It may not be necessary for everyone. Also, not everyone has an idea of ​​how beautiful it is. There is no comfort on top, there is nowhere to bathe, to eat normally. People run out of showers for a few days, the whole group stench. What a routine. Romance only in photos.

– Dreams, do you have a tradition before climbing a mountain?

Dream: The entire group goes to church before climbing.