Atanas Skatov

In this Bulgarian name, the patronymic is Georgiev and the family name is Skatov.

Atanas Skatov
Атанас Георгиев Скатов
Skatov, 23 May 2016, Summit Makalu, 8485m
Born	Atanas Georgiev Skatov (1978-03-11)11 March 1978 Sliven, Bulgaria
Died	5 February 2021(2021-02-05) (aged 42) K2, Pakistan
Cause of death	Mountaineering fall
Alma mater	Humboldt University, Berlin
Occupation	Agricultural scientist
Years active	2012–2021
Known for	Veganism Mountaineering
Children	1
Awards	2019 Green Person of Bulgaria
Website	atanasskatov.com

Atanas Georgiev Skatov (Bulgarian: Атанас Георгиев Скатов; 11 March 1978 – 5 February 2021) was a Bulgarian mountaineer, vegan and agronomist in plant protection.

Biography

Skatov was born in Sliven, Bulgaria. In 2001, he graduated from the Agricultural University of Plovdiv and held a master's degree in plant protection. He later earned a doctorate from Humboldt University in Berlin and worked as a scientist.^[1][2] Skatov later published scientific articles in Bulgaria and abroad.^[3][4]

In the summer of 2010, Skatov discovered his love of the mountains while hiking a mountain trail at home in Bulgaria.^[5] It sparked a drive to begin a more active lifestyle. He claimed that he had never been on a mountain until 2010 and had not been an active sports person before 2012.^[6] As he began to develop his physical health, he adopted a vegan lifestyle.^[7]

Mountaineering

Skatov was self-educated in the subject of climbing and mountaineering, often joining climbing expeditions as an expedition climber.^[2]

In May 2014, he claimed to have become the first known vegan to ascend Everest.^[8][9] His attempt was later refuted, as he admitted to having consumed honey.^[10] Skatov would become the first known person on a vegan diet to successfully climb the highest summits on six continents in less than two years, including four eight – thousanders in a week apiece.

In 2015, Skatov was awarded an “Honorary Citizen” of Sliven, Bulgaria.^[11] In the same year, he also published his first book^[12] and released his first documentary movie.^[13]

In 2017, Skatov ascended Everest from the Nepalese south side.^[7] In June 2017, he ascended Mount Denali in Alaska becoming the first Bulgarian and the world's first vegan to successfully climb the Seven Summits.^[14]

In 2019, Skatov was awarded the 2019 Green Person of Bulgaria.^[15] At this time, he was attempting to become the first known vegan to climb the 14 highest peaks on Earth, and had reportedly summitted 10 of them.^[16]

Final climb

In 2020, Skatov was planning to climb K2 in his attempt to be the first vegan to climb all eight-thousanders. However, climbing expeditions that year were delayed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, Skatov planned a winter ascent despite K2 being one of the world's most challenging and deadly eight-thousanders. The choice of a winter ascent was especially notable as at the time, as the mountain had never been successfully ascended in winter.^[2]

Skatov was described as a strong and technically competent climber, capable of making a successful winter ascent.^[17] On 16 January 2021, a Nepalese team made the first successful winter of ascent of K2.^[18] Roughly three weeks later, Skatov died on 5 February, aged 42, of a fall while descending from Camp 3 after an unsuccessful ascent.^[19][20][21] Skatov and his sherpa began their descent after spending the night outside as there were not enough tents for the climbers on the mountain.^[17]

As they began to climb down, other climbers suddenly noticed Skatov's body falling from the mountain. Initial reports cited Skatov's cause of death to be due to a broken safety rope.^[22] These reports were later refuted. His cause of death was later attributed to overexertion.^[23]

His body was recovered by a Pakistani military helicopter crew later that day.^[24]

Legacy

Upon learning of his death, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov wrote:

"The mountain took another of our great climbers. Atanas Skatov was a brave man, a man with a cause. I express my condolences to his family and relatives. May his memory be bright!"^[23]

Skatov would be one of five climbers to lose their lives on K2 during the Winter 2020 – 21 season.^[25]

Mountaineering expeditions

Year	Summit	Altitude	Mountain	Country	Results
2013	Uhuru	5895 m	Kilimanjaro	Tanzania	[26]
2013	Elbrus	5642 m	Caucasus	Russia	[26]
2013	Mont Blanc	4805 m	Alps	Europe	[27]
2013	Aconcagua	6961 m	Andes	Argentina	Reached 6,600m [28]
2014	Aconcagua	6961 m	Andes	Argentina	[26][29] Three-day solo expedition.
2014	Everest	8848 m	Himalayas	China	[26] Ascent via the north route.
2014	Carstensz Pyramid	4884 m	Maoke	Indonesia	[26]
2014	Vinson Massif	4892 m	Ellsworth	Antarctica	[26]
2015	Manaslu	8163 m	Himalayas	Nepal	[30]
2016	Annapurna I	8091 m	Himalayas	Nepal	[30]
2016	Makalu	8463 m	Himalayas	Nepal	[30] Four-day expedition.
2016	Gasherbrum II	8035 m	Karakoram	Pakistan	[31] Reached 6,350m
2017	Lhotse	8516 m	Himalayas	Nepal	[30]
2017	Everest	8848 m	Himalayas	Nepal	[30] Ascent via the south route.
2017	Denali	6190 m	Denali	USA	Seven Summits completed[14]
2018	Nanga Parbat	8126 m	Himalayas	Pakistan	[32] Without Sherpa and without oxygen
2019	Kangchenjunga	8586 m	Himalayas	Nepal	[16]
2019	Gasherbrum I	8080 m	Karakoram	Pakistan	[16] Without Sherpa
2019	Gasherbrum II	8035 m	Karakoram	Pakistan	[16] Without Sherpa
2019	Dhaulagiri	8167 m	Himalayas	Nepal	[33] Fourth eight-thousander in 140 days

See also

• Sergi Mingote
• Ali Sadpara
• Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto
• John Snorri

References

1. Skatov, Atanas. "About me". Atanas Skatov. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
2. Nestler, Stefan (2 December 2020). "Atanas Skatov before K2 winter expedition: "The mountain will decide"". Adventure Mountain. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
3. Dimitrov, Atanas Georgiev (2005). Integrierte Produktion von Tomaten (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) im Gewächshaus unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der integrierten Bekämpfung der Weissen Fliege (Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood) (in German). Tenea Verlag Ltd. ISBN 978-3-86504-116-6.
4. Böhme, Michael H.; Dimitrov-Skatov, Atanas G. (20 December 2018). "Investigations to biological and organic treatments against pests in vegetable cultivation". IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 215: 012012. doi:10.1088/1755-1315/215/1/012012. ISSN 1755-1315.
5. Routen, Ash (7 February 2021). "K2: The Fallen Five » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
6. "Д-р Скатов по скатовете - Списание Осем". Списание Осем. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
7. Benzesh, Sheny (1 February 2022). "A Climber We Lost: Atanas Skatov, February 5". Climbing. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
8. Mendis, Dishan (16 August 2018). "The Story of Atanas Skatov–First Vegan to Climb Mount Everest". Vegan Universal. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
9. "Meet The First Vegan Ever To Climb Mount Everest (And Conquer The 6 Highest Continental Summits In Record Time) -". inourishgently.com. March 2016. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
10. "The first vegan to summit Everest". The Vegan Society. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
11. Прес, Сливен. "ПЕТИМА ПОЧЕТНИ ГРАЖДАНИ НА СЛИВЕН". slivenpress.bg (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
12. Богинята Майка на Вселената. Дневникът на един веган. София: Кибеа. 2015. ISBN 978-954-474-714-5.
13. "The SKATOV experiment". Vimeo. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
14. "Bulgarian Atanas Skatov Climbed the Highest Mounts on Each of the 7 Continents". BNT News. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
15. "TEDxVitosha | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
16. "Bulgarian Atanas Skatov Successfully Climbed his 10th Eight-Thousander - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency". www.novinite.com. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
17. Benavides, Angela (9 February 2021). "The Mess on K2: Interview With Antonios Sykaris » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
18. Beaumont, Peter (16 January 2021). "Nepalese team makes first successful winter ascent of K2". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
19. "Bulgarian alpinist Skatov dies during K2 expedition". The Nation. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
20. Saikaly, Elia (14 February 2021). "Atanas Skatov - What happened on K2?". Elia Saikaly - Adventurer - Filmmaker - Speaker. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
21. Nestler, Stefan (5 February 2021). "Atanas Skatov fell to his death on K2". Adventure Mountain. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
22. "Обявиха официалната причина за смъртта на Скатов". Vesti.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 22 October 2024.
23. "Откриха тялото на Атанас Скатов, не скъсано въже е причината за падането му". Vesti.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 22 October 2024.
24. "Откриха тялото на Атанас Скатов (обновено)". bnr.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 22 October 2024.
25. Routen, Ash (7 February 2021). "K2: The Fallen Five » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
26. "Атанас Скатов покори най-високите върхове на всички континенти". bTV Новините. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
27. "Да покориш Еверест - Атанас Скатов на върха". БНТ (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 5 October 2019.
28. "Атанас Скатов покори и Андите - Сливен". dariknews.bg (in Bulgarian). 8 January 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
29. "Алпинистът Атанас Скатов покори връх Аконкагуа". Добри новини (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 22 October 2024.
30. "Atanas Skatov Climbed his Ninth Eight-Thousander and Is Looking Forward to the "Crown of the Himalaya" - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency". www.novinite.com. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
31. "Лошо време и лавини попречиха на Атанас Скатов да изкачи връх Гашербрум 2". www.actualno.com (in Bulgarian). 25 July 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
32. "Bulgarian Atanas Skatov summited Cho Oyu without oxygen or Sherpa help". www.dreamwanderlust.com. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
33. "Atanas Skatov and Sergi Mingote summitted Dhaulagiri". www.explorersweb.com. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.