Yaşar Uğur Uluocak (1962 – 2 July 2003) was a Turkish outdoorsman,
mountaineer
Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...
, photographer, and editor.
Born in 1962 in
Ankara
Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
from
Istanbul Technical University
Istanbul Technical University, also known as Technical University of Istanbul (, commonly referred to as İTÜ), is an public university, public technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical university ...
.
Uğur started mountain climbing in 1984 with the mountaineering club at Istanbul Technical University (ITUDAK). Uğur was a complete sportsman. He competed four years in
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...
, ranking in first place. He was a
middle
Middle or The Middle may refer to:
* Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits.
Places
* Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man
* Middle Bay (disambiguation)
* Middle Brook (disambiguation)
* Middle Creek ...
- and
long-distance runner
Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength.
Within endurance ru ...
for eight years, and a
scuba diver
Scuba, originally SCUBA, often expanded to scuba set, is any self contained underwater breathing apparatus, a source of breathing gas used for underwater diving which is carried by the diver.
Scuba may also refer to:
* Scuba diving
Scuba ...
and
cyclist
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
for the last two years. As a globally known mountaineer, he trained many young sportsmen, both in theoretical and practical ways.
From 1999 on, Uğur worked as a photographer, expedition coordinator, and editor for the Turkish nature and outdoor sports magazine ''Atlas''. He not only wrote about his mountaineering adventures but also on mountaineering ethics and history with his friend
Ahmet Köksal
Ahmet Köksal (1920 – 24 January 1997) was a Turkish poet and writer.
Early life and education
Ahmet Köksal was born in Kızılkeçili a village of Çanakkale in 1920. He went to primary and middle school in Çanakkale and in 1936 went to t ...
.
Uğur was an influential figure in the Turkish mountaineering community, with a very strong and dedicated personality and an extremely high intellectual capacity. He was fluent in five languages.
Professionally, he was a lecturer at the
Marmara University
Marmara University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university, named after the Sea of Marmara, was founded as a university in 1982. However, its ...
in Istanbul and was also an active member of the Communist Party of Turkey for over 20 years.
Uğur Uluocak died on 2 July 2003 while on a descent in the Alarcha Mountain in
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
when a rock broke off and he took a fall. His body was recovered by his teammates Haldun Ülkenli and Alper Işın Duran and brought to his homeland for burial. Uğur is the second Turkish mountaineer after Ali Kepenek to have died in a foreign country while climbing a mountain.
Achievements
* Direktaş, north face (solo, in 2 hours) and northeast dihedral, Ala Mountains (Turkey)
* Mt. Büyük Demirkazık, west face (solo) and north face, Ala Mountains (Turkey)
* Mt. Küçük Demirkazık, south face (first ascent), Ala Mountains (Turkey)
* Çağalın Başı, northwest face (first ascent), Ala Mountains (Turkey)
* Ağrı (
Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat, also known as Masis or Mount Ağrı, is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in Eastern Turkey, easternmost Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest p ...
) (5,137 m), north glacier in summer and winter
*
Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus; ; is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. It is a dormant stratovolcano rising above sea level, and is the highest volcano in Eurasia, as well as the tenth-most prominent peak in the world. It is situated in the south ...
Pamir Mountains
The Pamir Mountains are a Mountain range, range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya ...
Khan Tengri
Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range in Central Asia. It is on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk-Kul, Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan. Its geologic elevation is , but its glacial icecap rises to ...
(7,010 m),
Lenin Peak
Lenin Peak or Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Peak (, ; ; , renamed () in July 2006 (Tajik); for Russian tex K-2 (8,611 m), two attempts in 1998 and 1999
* 1999 Shisha Pangma (8,013 m) in
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
* 1999
Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu ( Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means " Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the '' Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur Him ...
(8,201 m) in
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
, alpine solo
* 2000
Annapurna
Annapurna (; ) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the 10th highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its as ...