On March 23, the traditional mass ascent of the highest peak in Ukraine, Hoverla, took place, with more than 400 participants.
They climbed the mountain in several groups via the blue route, the Lviv Oblast Sports Department reported.
“The snow was about three meters high, and there was a strong wind. We have not seen such a winter this year. But this level of adrenaline and positive emotions overcame any weather conditions. The level of difficulty is above average, but with good physical fitness it is not so difficult. The youngest participants who climbed with us were six years old, and the oldest was eighty-four,” says Roman Khimyak, head of the Youth and Sports Department of the Lviv Regional Military Administration and organizer of the climb.
“This is the sixtieth time Hoverla has been held. This year’s project, in addition to the sporting component, aimed to popularize the image of the Ukrainian soldier-defender, to honor the memory of the Heroes who died in the struggle for independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the country. Among the participants of the climb were a large number of soldiers of the 80th separate airborne assault brigade of the Galician Armed Forces of Ukraine and their families.
“I would like to see many more moments like this climb in our lives. But now we are at war, and I want everyone to understand this, as well as the need to help each other and defend ourselves. Because we are not eternal and we are not made on an assembly line. So, gather your courage and strength. To begin with, go to Hoverla, and then you will understand what it is like. War is 10 times harder than this climb. But you will overcome one difficult path, and if you do, you will pass other trials in your life,” says Mykhailo Pavlyshyn, a soldier with the 2nd Assault Battalion of the 80th separate airborne assault brigade of the Galician Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The project raised 200 thousand hryvnias for a drone with a thermal imager (DJI Mavic 3T) for the 80th Air Assault Brigade’s assault troops who are performing missions in the Donetsk sector.
The event was organized by the Department of Youth and Sports of the Lviv Regional Military Administration together with the Regional Sports Tourism Federation and the Skelya Tourist and Mountaineering Center.