Thursday marks the 45th anniversary of Hristo Prodanov’s ascent of Lhotse on April 30, 1981. At 8,516 meters, Lhotse is the world’s fourth-highest and a technically demanding peak. Prodanov’s achievement marked him as the first Bulgarian to summit an eight-thousander and the fourth person globally to reach the peak without supplemental oxygen.
Prodanov led the “Himalayas 81,” a Bulgarian national expedition commemorating the 1,300th anniversary of the Bulgarian State. The ascent was the sixth expedition attempt on Lhotse. After establishing multiple intermediate camps—including Camp 4 in the ‘death zone’—the decisive assault began on April 30.
On that day, Prodanov started the final ascent at 7 a.m. He reached the summit at 1:55 p.m. local time, remaining at the top for approximately 20 minutes.
During his time on the summit, he planted the Bulgarian tricolour and left a capsule containing soil from his homeland. Following the summit, Prodanov navigated a dangerous descent, overcoming physical challenges, including a twisted leg and mild frostbite. His teammates, Metodi Savov and Ognyan Baldzhiiski, followed, but communication difficulties and equipment issues necessitated their retreat to Camp 4.
The entire Bulgarian expedition eventually regrouped safely at the base camp on May 2, 1981.
Topics: #bulgarian #prodanov #first
