Tengrinews.kz — Yerassyl, a 19-year-old student, summiting the 4,376-meter Almaty Peak, recreated a famous performance by New York roofers. At the summit, he unfurled a banner reading, "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace" — the same message that recently appeared on the spire of the Empire State Building.
Yerassyl has only been seriously involved in mountaineering for about a year. However, during a recent alpine event, he decided not just to summit the peak, but to replicate an action that gained international fame just a few days ago.
"I was inspired by the roofers. When I saw them reaching the top with that banner, I thought: I climb peaks too, even if they are mountains. I wanted to capture a shot with the same banner," he said.
The Ascent
Yerassyl reconstructed his route in detail, almost minute by minute.
It all began during the day at the Medeu high-altitude ice rink, where he arrived with rented equipment: a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and a burner.
- 14:52 — Arrived at the "Medeu" high-altitude skating rink with rented gear (tent, sleeping bag, pad, burner with canister);
- 15:51 — Took the cable car up to "Shymbulak" (3,200 meters) and immediately set off on foot toward the base camp;
- 18:07 — Reached the "Nunatak" camping zone, where climbers had set up a tent city;
- 18:44 — Pitched his tent, boiled water on the burner, and had instant noodles for dinner;
- 19:30 — Went to bed. According to the organizers' plan, the technical route opened at 6:00 AM, and the young man wanted to start early;
- 22:30 — Woke up from the intense cold and could not fall back asleep;
- 01:30 — The tent camp began to stir. Headlamps flickered as people started their push for the summit;
- 02:35 — Packed up, dressed warmly, and set out on the night route. He had to trek across snow-covered slopes and ice. Since Yerassyl did not have climbing crampons, he had to literally kick steps into the hard snow with the toes of his boots;
- 04:44 — Reached the Komsomol Pass. Here, volunteers and rescuers issued him the mandatory safety gear (helmet and harness) for the final section;
- 06:23 — Summitted Almaty Peak (4,376 meters).
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According to him, he was the seventh participant of the event to reach the summit that day. The trek from the tent camp took about six hours.
Upon reaching the top, Yerassyl unfurled the banner with the inscription:
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."
It was this exact banner that famous roofers Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus displayed a few days earlier on the spire of the Empire State Building in New York.
As a reminder, on July 1, the well-known pair of roofers illegally scaled the spire of the Empire State Building in New York. At an altitude of 443 meters, the young man proposed to his girlfriend, after which the couple unfurled a peace-themed banner reading, "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."
The extreme performance brought the couple not only worldwide fame, but also serious legal trouble. The Manhattan District Attorney's office filed eight charges against the roofers, including burglary, criminal mischief, and reckless endangerment. Collectively, the pair could face up to 20 years in prison.