Boyan Petrov ( bg, Боян Петров, born 7 February 1973 – disappeared 5 May 2018) was a
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
and
mountaineer
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
, who worked at the
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...
in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
.
[Boyal Petrov](_blank)
NMNHS
He was married to Radoslava Nenova and they have a child - Yavor Petrov.
At the time of his disappearance he had climbed 10 out of the 14
eight-thousander
The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) recognises eight-thousanders as the 14 mountains that are more than in height above sea level, and are considered to be sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no ...
s, all without supplementary oxygen. As of October 2019, this achievement tied him with
Atanas Skatov
Atanas Georgiev Skatov (; born Atanas Georgiev Dimitrov; 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 ...
as the Bulgarian altitude climber with the highest number of successful ascents of peaks over 8000 meters. He was the first Bulgarian to summit four of those mountains:
Gasherbrum I
Gasherbrum I ( ur, ; ), surveyed as K5 and also known as Hidden Peak, is the 11th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is located in Shigar District in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan. Gasherbrum I is part of the Ga ...
(2009),
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the T ...
(2014),
K2 (2014) and
Manaslu
Manaslu ( ne, मनास्लु, also known as Kutang; muh-NAA-slu) is the eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. The name Mana ...
(2015).
Achievements
On 20 May 2014 he became the first Bulgarian to climb the third highest peak on Earth
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the T ...
(8586m), as well as the first
diabetic
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased app ...
to ascend to such an altitude and without oxygen. On 23 July he climbed
Broad Peak
Broad Peak ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram on the border of Pakistan and China, the twelfth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was first ascended in June 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, an ...
(8047m).
[Boyan Petrov: The most successful summer of Bulgarian mountaineering](_blank)
Bulgarian National Radio
Bulgarian National Radio ( bg, Българско национално радио, ''Bulgarsko natsionalno radio''; abbreviated to БНР, BNR) is Bulgaria's national radio broadcasting organisation. It operates two national and nine regional cha ...
On 31 July 2014 he became the first Bulgarian to climb the second highest peak on the planet
K2 (8611m), which also made him the 35th person to climb three
eight-thousander
The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) recognises eight-thousanders as the 14 mountains that are more than in height above sea level, and are considered to be sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no ...
s in less than 100 days. His double climb – on Broad Peak and K2 - in 8 days, is also a world record.
For these remarkable successes the Bulgarian climber was greeted with a video message by mountaineering legend
Reinhold Messner
Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author from South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental ...
.
His documentary film about his climbs "3x8000" was broadcast on
Bulgarian National Television
The Bulgarian National Television ( Bulgarian: Българска национална телевизия, ''Balgarska natsionalna televizia'') or BNT (БНТ), stylized as ·Б·Н·Т· since 2018, is a public television broadcaster of Bulgari ...
in December 2014. He reached the summit of Mt.
Dhaulagiri
Dhaulagiri is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country (Nepal). It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition.
Annapurna I () is ...
(8167m) on 29 September 2017 at 01:00 pm without the help of supplementary oxygen.
Boyan Petrov was a
cancer survivor
A cancer survivor is a person with cancer of any type who is still living. Whether a person becomes a survivor at the time of diagnosis or after completing treatment, whether people who are actively dying are considered survivors, and whether ...
and a
diabetic
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased app ...
. In 2008 he fell while climbing in the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
and broke his leg.
[Мара Калчева]
"Боян Петров: Диабетик съм, но катеря осемхилядници!"
www.blitz.bg, 28-05-2013, in Bulgarian. Retrieved 28-07-2016. During the descent of
Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum II ( ur, ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan a ...
in 2009 he fell in a glacial
crevasse
A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...
and was saved by a group of Spanish climbers. In 2013 Petrov suffered another leg fracture due to a car accident.
Despite his injuries, in the following year he achieved a hat-trick by successfully climbing
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the T ...
,
Broad Peak
Broad Peak ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram on the border of Pakistan and China, the twelfth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was first ascended in June 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, an ...
, and
K2 with
internal fixators in this leg. After the descent of K2, he suffered a serious
hypoglycemic crisis while in base camp, lost consciousness and was able to recover with the help of Polish climbers.
Disappearance
Petrov was declared missing on 5 May 2018 while climbing
Shishapangma
Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...
. The search for him was discontinued on 16 May. According to other climbers, he may have fallen into a crevasse on the way to the top.
Ascents of peaks over 6000 meters
Source:
CV of Boyan Petrov
National Museum of Natural History, Sofia, Official Site. Retrieved 24-05-2016.
See also
* Hristo Prodanov
Hristo Prodanov ( bg, Христо Проданов) (24 February 1943 – 21 April 1984) was a Bulgarian mountaineer. Prodanov was the first Bulgarian to climb Mount Everest, doing it via the most difficult way—the West Ridge—as well as alo ...
* List of deaths on eight-thousanders
The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains that rise more than above sea level; they are all in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges.
This is a list of mountaineers who have died on these mountains.
Mount Everest
Mount Everest, E ...
* List of people who disappeared
Lists of people who disappeared include those whose current whereabouts are unknown, or whose deaths are unsubstantiated. Many people who disappear are eventually declared dead ''in absentia''. Some of these people were possibly subjected to enfo ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrov, Boyan
1973 births
2010s missing person cases
Bulgarian mountain climbers
Bulgarian zoologists
Missing person cases in China
Mountaineering deaths
Scientists from Sofia
Sport deaths in China
Possibly living people