Azerbaijani flag hoisted on Mount Everest
By Nigar Orujova
An Azerbaijani mountain climber on May 19 hoisted the flag of his country on Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, according to the Azerbaijan Mountaineering Federation.
Murad Ashurly, a member of the Azerbaijan Mountaineering Federation and the American Alpine Club, as part of an international team climbed on Mount Everest, the highest point of the world rising 8,848 meters above the ground, and set the Azerbaijani flag on top of the formidable peak.
In a telephone conversation, Ashurly said raging hurricane winds left no snow on the crucial parts of the route at the altitude of over 8,600 meters, exposing sloping rock slabs, which required special caution during the rise and descent.
Ashurly currently lives and works in the United States. Over the past ten years, he has made a successful ascent to the highest peak in the North American continent, Mount McKinley, as well as Elbrus, and the highest mountain in the Americas, Aconcagua. He has also climbed onto the mountains of the Caucasus, Pamir, a mountain range in Central Asia, as well as the Andes, which is the world's longest continental mountain range.
The first Azerbaijani who reached the highest peak of the world was Israfil Ashurly, who made this achievement on May 19, 2007.
The Azerbaijan Mountaineering Federation has been active since 1997 and is involved in the development of mountain climbing in the country as well as represents this sport in international sports organizations and associations.
The Federation cooperates with Azerbaijan's Youth and Sports Ministry to attract people to sport activity, manpower training, organizing and training national teams and sending them to international competitions, and is responsible for their performances including their honorary awards.