site.btaFirst Bulgarian Expedition to Everest Had and Still Has Major Impact Worldwide - Expedition Member Kostas Kanidis

The first Bulgarian expedition to Mount Everest had and still has a major impact worldwide. There was a rigorous selection process, with big names and strong individuals taking part, Kostas Kanidis, one of the members of the Everest-1984 expedition, said in an interview with the Bulgarian News Agency.

Forty-one years ago on this day, Hristo Prodanov became the first Bulgarian mountaineer to reach the world’s highest peak and he did it via one of the most challenging routes, the West Ridge. During the Everest-1984 expedition, five Bulgarians made it to the top of the world.

The process of selecting a national team for the planned 1984 summit attempt began in 1980. “At the time, Nepal only allowed one expedition per route each season, and the Chinese side [of Everest] was not as accessible,” Kanidis said. “Every mountaineering club in the country - there were more than 200 back then - nominated five or six people who met the requirements. That meant around 1,000 people were competing for a limited number of spots,” he added. After a series of physical and psychological tests, some 300 people made it into the draft national team. The group was gradually narrowed down through further intensive testing until the final team was selected, Kanidis noted.

In his words, high-altitude mountaineering was at its peak at the time. The people who took part in the expedition were very well prepared and were achieving things that seemed impossible for their time, he said. “We were headed to a place that had only ever been described by a Serbian expedition,” Kanidis said. “All of our gear, everything we used, was made in Bulgaria,” he noted. 

In the early 1980s, the State allocated funding for the Everest expedition and selected the route, which was the only one available. “They asked us if we felt ready to take it on. It was extremely challenging, and the fact that no one has conquered it since speaks volumes,” Kanidis said. He added that sections of the route are dangerously steep, with fierce winds at altitudes over 8,700 metres. “You need a lot of oxygen and fixed rope systems to get through. Maybe that is why Prodanov did not make it back,” Kanidis said.

Hristo Prodanov died on the descent from the summit of Mount Everest.

“There were no fixed ropes for the descent, the slope was steep, and it forced him to move slowly. Falling asleep at that altitude turned out to be fatal,” Kanidis added.

Such tragedies inevitably impact the morale of the team, Kanidis said. But human nature is driven by the desire to overcome challenges and discover the unknown, he added.

Kanidis climbed Mount Elbrus at the age of 60 and described the experience as “unparalleled”. “I have been mountaineering since I was 16. It is a way of life that needs to be sustained,” he said. Over the years, he has also conquered Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro, among others. 

He said that these days commercialization has undermined the very idea of high-altitude mountaineering. “Now, you pay a fee and get various perks depending on how much you spend,” he said. Everyone keeps asking how much money was allocated for the 1984 expedition, but no one asks what it costs today. That climb had and still has a major impact worldwide, Kanidis said.

Kanidis leads the ski club of a tourist association in Stara Zagora, where he is an honorary citizen. “Sadly, we are one of the very few associations in the country still working in this field,” he added.