Remembering Ukrainian mountaineer and climber Alexandr Zakolodniy, who died defending his country in Soledar on January 21.

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Alexandr Zakolodniy had experience of hostile environments and encounters. In 2013, he descended from an acclimatisation rotation on Nanga Parbat and arrived at Base Camp to witness the aftermath of a massacre. Taliban-affiliated militants had shot dead eleven people, three of whom were Zakolodniy's Ukrainian teammates from his hometown, Kharkiv. A decade later, Zakolodniy would confront terrorism once again—this time closer to home, as he defended his country from invading Russian forces.

 

'He never chose easy routes, and he didn't have to choose this one,' said Evgeny Ermakov, Zakolodniy's climbing partner and friend.

Alexandr 'Sasha' Zakolodniy was born on April 8, 1987, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. He developed a love for the outdoors at school and went on to become one of Ukraine's most accomplished and respected mountaineers, earning the nickname 'Snow Leopard' for his rapid ascents of 7,000-metre peaks in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Evgenii Poltarev met Zakolodniy in 2008 in the North Caucasus at a Ukrainian national team selection camp. 'Sasha showed very good results, despite the fact that he was a beginner climber,' said Poltarev. Months later, together the pair won the Ukrainian championship in the Crimean mountains. 'After that, we made many difficult ascents in Crimea, the Caucasus, and Asia. Sasha developed very quickly in mountaineering. He was a very strong athlete.'

Among Zakolodniy's notable climbs were ascents of Rolling Stones on the Grandes Jorasses and Divine Providence on Mont Blanc, and the south face of Ushba in the Caucasus mountains. He became a two-time world champion in alpinism, and a three-time Ukrainian champion between 2017 and 2019. He also led a Ukrainian national expedition to Makalu, and expeditions with a Kharkiv-region team to Cho Oyu and Nanga Parbat.

Alongside his personal achievements and goals, Zakolodniy contributed significantly to the Ukrainian climbing scene, becoming Vice President of the Mountaineering and Rock Climbing Federation of Ukraine and director of a climbing wall in Kharkiv named Vertykalʹ.

Zakolodniy had ambitions to summit 8,000-metre peaks. But he also loved introducing people to the mountains and wanted as many as possible to discover the joys of alpinism and take up mountaineering themselves. He was one of the pioneers of ice climbing in Ukraine, organising competitions and creating a training facility for athletes.

'He wanted to develop all of this further,' said his step-daughter, Margarita. 'He coached children, hosted national competitions, took kids to training camps and on climbing trips. He really wanted our youth to be athletic and healthy, have them train, participate in international competitions and become champions.'

Kharkiv climber Sergii Klochko owes his climbing career to Zakolodniy. 'Meeting Sasha over ten years ago, without exaggeration, changed my life,' said Klochko. 'It was Sasha who opened up to me the wonderful world of mountaineering, rock climbing, trail running, and it was thanks to him that I met many wonderful people. It was Sasha who became a mentor for me, with whom I went many times to small and large mountains and hiked, trained and participated in competitions.'

The head of a climbing family, Zakolodniy was a father of four, two of whom are his biological children. His wife and mother to his children, Olga Zakolodna-Zakharova, is a former Speed world champion and won multiple Speed World Cups in the 1990s.

Their daughters Anna (5) and Anastasia (9) are keen climbers. 'Both are athletic girls who have been passionate about climbing since they were very young, even before they started walking,' said Margarita (27), who competes for Ukraine on the IFSC circuit. His youngest step-daughter Ksenia (16), also competes in international competitions and aspires to reach the Olympics.

'Since my parents were professional climbers, I was born to be a climber and knew everything about this sport,' said Margarita, who is now a full-time climber herself. 'When Alexandr appeared in our life, I was already a Master of Sports of Ukraine, so he was mostly focused on helping Ksenia move to achieve great things in sports. He dreamed of his children also being athletic and loving the mountains.'

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When Russian troops invaded Ukrainian borders on 24 February 2022, Zakolodniy and his family woke to the sound of artillery fire. Tanks had advanced 25 miles from the border to Kharkiv and civilians were fleeing. The family were at risk of becoming surrounded by occupying Russian forces. 

'We finally decided to get out, witnessing a lot of military vehicles and equipment driving towards us, which filled us with horror,' said Margarita. 'We couldn't wrap our heads around this, it felt like a terrible dream that we couldn't wake up from, everyone was very scared. While we realised that the war could spread throughout the country, we never fully believed that this was possible and such a catastrophe could occur in the modern world. It was unthinkable.'

Zakolodniy drove his family to safety in Western Ukraine, before heading back to the front lines alone. Lacking combat experience, he focused his effort on helping civilians, evacuating people from Kharkiv and distributing humanitarian aid to those in need, and supplying troops on the front lines with equipment.

'Alexandr had no military experience, he was an athlete and mountaineer who wanted to develop sports in the country and dreamed that more people would get into mountaineering,' said Margarita.

Eventually, he was deployed on various military assignments. The family were only reunited after ten months for three brief days last November. 'Unfortunately, he did not have a chance to tell us how he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but in the spring, we learned that he was already fighting on the front lines,' said Margarita. 

As a company commander within the Kraken Regiment - a volunteer special forces intelligence unit - Zakolodniy participated in the counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region and the eventual liberation of the region. His call-sign was 'скала', meaning 'rock'.

After the liberation, Alexandr and his fellow troops - alongside his childhood friend and climbing partner Grigor Grogoriev - were sent to Donetsk Oblast in east Ukraine, where some of the most intense battles of the war continue to be fought.

'It is just hell on earth, and the guys are suffering heavy losses there,' said Margarita. 'After one assignment, Alexandr returned in a state of deep mental distress; he already had military experience and a clear idea of how things should work.' By then a more capable soldier, he was able and willing to train and mentor younger soldiers, helping them to improve their equipment, weapons and tactical operations.

Zakolodniy's experience as a mountaineer likely helped him to adapt well to the rigours of warfare and would have been looked upon favourably by military commanders, Margarita believes. He was physically fit, resilient and had basic first aid skills. 'He had experience of surviving in difficult conditions, he made quick and correct decisions with no room for fear, doubt or panic,' said Margarita. 'His fellow soldiers say that he always took full responsibility, including for his own life and the lives of his friends. He never left anyone unprotected and always helped others.'

On the front lines, accounts from his comrades suggest that Zakolodniy lived up to his first name: Alexandr, derived from the Greek name Alexandros, meaning 'defender of men'.

Although keenly aware that he might not return from a mission, Zakolodniy maintained a calm exterior in front of his family. 'Throughout the war, I never heard him complain of any hardships, fatigue or poor conditions,' said Margarita. 'We could hardly convince him to take some new equipment. He always said that he needed more weapons and that we would struggle to even imagine what was happening there and when it would all end.'

In January, as the battle for Soledar near the strategic town of Bakhmut intensified, Zakolodniy became surrounded by Russian soldiers and died in close combat alongside his friend Grigory "Grisha" Grigoriev. The pair had grown up and climbed together, and now they had fought and died together, both aged 35. 

'When my aunt called me, I was sure that she and my mum had confused something, I couldn't believe what I was hearing,' said Margarita. 'I called the commander and he confirmed the news. It was a terrible shock, it's hard to describe how it felt - every cell in my body was shaking, I was crying and screaming. I just couldn't believe that Alexandr was gone, my friends didn't know how to console me. My mother was in a terrible state and she couldn't even talk. I could hardly sleep. It was just maddening, it felt like my mind was entirely taken over by these thoughts and I couldn't shift focus and think of anything else.'

Zakolodniy's funeral was held on 4 February. Global media outlets captured the ceremony in photographs and video. He rests beside Grigoriev, their graves joined by interconnected slings. Roped together in death, as in life. Zakolodniy's friend Evgeny Ermakov wrote online:

'I have never seen so many people at a funeral. Even during the war, he managed to gather all his friends. Grisha was buried two days earlier. And now they lie side by side. Two heroes, best friends, two alpinists, climbers, in one unit, as before. Holding back the assault on their last Red Mountain. Neither the Caucasus, nor the Alps, nor Nepal. Mountains in eastern Ukraine, near Soledar.'

On April 8, Zakolodniy would have turned 36. Friends and family visited his grave, and shared tributes.

'A lifelong warrior, mentor and friend to many of us, our Hero,' wrote Sergii Klochko. 'He never had a choice - to be free or to just be alive. It was priceless to know you, to train with you, to learn from you, my friend. Thank you for being there for me! I'll always remember who you were and what you gave your life for. I will tell my kids about you, and they will tell theirs.'

To distract from the pain, Zakolodniy's 16-year-old step-daughter Ksenia is focusing on her goal of qualifying for the Olympics, while also helping the war effort. 'She is finding it very difficult to cope with the loss and is collecting money and humanitarian aid for our army,' said Margarita.

Margarita vows to share the reality of the war in Ukraine with the world, and to organise an event for Ukrainian soldiers to support their mental wellbeing. 'We are in dire need of help from the whole world — we hope people will not forget about our situation and not consider it ordinary or unimportant,' she said.

Most of all, she wants to continue her step-father's legacy. 'Once Ukraine wins, I want all of Alexandr's plans and dreams to come true, including new climbing gyms being built, competitions organised, children training and becoming champions, and many more people climbing rocks and mountains,' she continued.

'The most important thing Alexandr taught me is to fight for the truth, to never give up, to be confident and go all the way, to be honest with myself, to do everything conscientiously and correctly. Also, he taught me that it's essential to value your loved ones, hug and kiss them, say kind words, show support, because tomorrow you may never see them again.'