Stipe Božić
Encyclopedia
Stipe Božić is a Croatia
n mountaineer
, documentary film
maker, photographer and writer. He is the most successful Croatian Himalayan climber. Božić completed the Seven Summits
and is the second European, after Reinhold Messner
, to climb the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest
, twice. He has directed more than 60 documentary films, mostly related to mountains and climbing.
(at the time SR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia). When he finished elementary school, he moved with his parents and sister to Split, where his father, a winegrower, found a job as a driver. In Split, Stipe enrolled in a high school, joined the scouts, and started with mountain climbing. His parents, who were rather strict, did not approve, and did not accept his hobby until much later, after reading about their son's achievements in the newspapers. After finishing high school, Božić worked as an electrician on an ocean liner
, but quit his job as soon as he saved enough money to buy climbing gear.
as a member of the Yugoslav
expedition that used a previously unclimbed West Ridge route, known today as the Slovenian Route. A similar path was chosen by a 1974 French expedition that ended in disaster when six climbers were killed in an avalanche
, but Yugoslav team leader Tone Škarja modified the route so as to avoid the avalanche fall-lines. The large expedition, numbering 25 climbers, arrived at Base Camp on 31 March and progressed smoothly through four additional bases. Andrej Štremfelj and Nejc Zaplotnik reached the summit on 13 May, followed two days later by Stane Belak, Ang Phu and Božić, who thus became the 87th person to have climbed Mount Everest. On descent, the weather worsened quickly, and Božić's team was unable to return to base four before dark. They were forced to spend the night in a -40 C temperature, without tents or sleeping bags, at an altitude of 8400 metres (27,559.1 ft). According to Božić, at the time this was the highest ever overnight bivouac in the open, and the closest he has ever been to death. The team managed to survive the night, but was struck by disaster on the following day, when Ang Phu slipped and fell to his death during descent through the Hornbein Couloir
.
The difficulty of the new West Ridge route is reflected by the fact that, as of 2000, 21 teams attempted it, but only 3 succeeded. The 1979 climb is considered one of the finest in the history of Everest, and Yugoslav state leadership even saw it as the all-time greatest national sporting achievement.
Božić second Himalayan ascent was Lhotse
in 1981, with a Slovenia
n team via a new South face route. Although he failed to get to the summit, reaching 8150 metres (26,738.8 ft) in a solo climb on the south rock wall, Božić considered his Lhotse effort technically the most demanding and possibly his greatest Himalayan success. The following year, Božić summited Kang Guru
with two Croatian climbers.
The 1983 expedition to Manaslu
ended in disaster when Nejc Zaplotnik and Ante Bućan were killed in an ice avalanche. Božić returned to the same mountain a year later in a successful climb with Slovenian climber Viki Grošelj. In 1985 Božić was climbing in the Alps
: Eiger
via the classic north face route, and Grandes Jorasses
via the Cassin route.
Božić returned to Mount Everest
in 1989, with a Macedonian expedition. An easier route was used, but the ascent was difficult for Božić because, having caught a bad cold, he suffered from hallucination
s, and did not have a full recollection of the events afterwards. Macedonian member of the team Dimitar Ilievski died on the mountain. Božić's successful ascent on 10 May made him only the second European, after Reinhold Messner
, to climb Mount Everest twice.
After a successful climb to Kanchenjunga (1991) and an unsuccessful one to Annapurna
(1992), Božić climbed K2
in 1993. The expedition's progress was smooth until shortly before the top of the climb, when the weather worsened. Božić, Viki Grošelj, Carlos Carsolio
and Zvonko Požgaj were only able to touch the summit, because standing on it would have been impossible due to high winds. On the way back, the team got lost in the snowstorm, but ultimately managed to get to base four, where they found Boris Sedej and Boštjan Kekec. The latter was in distress, showing symptoms of hypoxia
, his condition worsening. Due to the urgency of the situation, Sedej, Požgaj and Božić descended with Kekec through the snowstorm. Soon Kekec was unable to walk and became unresponsive, and the trio pulled him through the deep snow. When this became physically too difficult and when Požgaj began to suffer from frostbite
, they decided to leave Kekec to die on the mountain. Božić was affected by snow blindness
and barely made it to safety, using only the climbing rope to direct himself back to the base camp.
Stipe Božić completed the Seven Summits
in 2000. The sequence of his climbs was: Mont Blanc
(1974), Mount Everest
(1979 and 1989), Aconcagua
, Mount McKinley
, Mount Kosciuszko
and Kilimanjaro (all 1996), Mount Vinson (1997), and Elbrus (2000).
In 2003 Božić expressed his desire to climb Mount Tyree
, the second highest mountain of Antarctica. This would have made him the first person in the world to climb two highest peaks on each of the seven continents, i.e. to complete both Seven Summits
and Seven Second Summits
.
in 1975, made into a television documentary Hindukush '75 for RTV Sarajevo. He carried a camera to Mount Everest in 1979, when he refused to jettison it even in the most difficult circumstances. Božić went on to carry a camera on nearly all of his Himalayan expeditions. He has directed more than 60 documentary films, among them a documentary series Sedam vrhova (Seven Summits), which is also the name of his autobiography published in 2003.
For a while, Božić worked as a journalist, and wrote articles for Slobodna Dalmacija
, Večernji list
, and National Geographic.
During the Croatian War of Independence
Božić used to assist the Croatian Army in mountainous regions of Croatia that were war zones. In February 1992 he was wounded by shrapnel.
Besides mountaineering Božić has been also involved in speleology
and desert exploration. In 1994 he descended into Lukina jama, the 1392 metres (4,566.9 ft) deep pit which is a part of the Velebit cave complex
. His 11-part documentary series Pustinje svijeta (Deserts of the World), premiered in early 2010, was produced by the Croatian Radiotelevision
.
For more than 30 years Božić has been volunteering for the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, and is currently the head of its Split branch. He took part in hundreds of search and rescue operations, most notably in the helicopter evacuation of thirteen dead and injured firefighters from Kornat island in August 2007.
, Italy
in 1980, where Stipe, who is a certified ski instructor, gave ski lessons. Together they have two daughters, Maja (born c. 1988) and Iva (born c. 1990). His wife climbed Kilimanjaro with him in 1996.
Stipe had a son, Joško (born 1975), from his first marriage. Joško was, like his father, a mountain climber and a rescuer for the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service. He was killed with his wife Ana in a motorcycle accident in June 2007.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n mountaineer
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...
, documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
maker, photographer and writer. He is the most successful Croatian Himalayan climber. Božić completed the Seven Summits
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...
and is the second European, after Reinhold Messner
Reinhold Messner
Reinhold Messner is an Italian mountaineer and explorer from Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol "whose astonishing feats on Everest and on peaks throughout the world have earned him the status of the greatest climber in history." He is renowned for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without...
, to climb the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
, twice. He has directed more than 60 documentary films, mostly related to mountains and climbing.
Early life
Božić was born in the village of Zavojane near VrgoracVrgorac
Vrgorac is a town in Croatia in the Split-Dalmatia County.The total population of Vrgorac is 6,501 , in the following settlements:* Banja, population 214* Dragljane, population 47* Draževitići, population 204* Duge Njive, population 106...
(at the time SR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia). When he finished elementary school, he moved with his parents and sister to Split, where his father, a winegrower, found a job as a driver. In Split, Stipe enrolled in a high school, joined the scouts, and started with mountain climbing. His parents, who were rather strict, did not approve, and did not accept his hobby until much later, after reading about their son's achievements in the newspapers. After finishing high school, Božić worked as an electrician on an ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
, but quit his job as soon as he saved enough money to buy climbing gear.
Mountaineering career
Božić's first notable Himalayan climb was the 1979 ascent to Mount EverestMount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
as a member of the Yugoslav
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
expedition that used a previously unclimbed West Ridge route, known today as the Slovenian Route. A similar path was chosen by a 1974 French expedition that ended in disaster when six climbers were killed in an avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
, but Yugoslav team leader Tone Škarja modified the route so as to avoid the avalanche fall-lines. The large expedition, numbering 25 climbers, arrived at Base Camp on 31 March and progressed smoothly through four additional bases. Andrej Štremfelj and Nejc Zaplotnik reached the summit on 13 May, followed two days later by Stane Belak, Ang Phu and Božić, who thus became the 87th person to have climbed Mount Everest. On descent, the weather worsened quickly, and Božić's team was unable to return to base four before dark. They were forced to spend the night in a -40 C temperature, without tents or sleeping bags, at an altitude of 8400 metres (27,559.1 ft). According to Božić, at the time this was the highest ever overnight bivouac in the open, and the closest he has ever been to death. The team managed to survive the night, but was struck by disaster on the following day, when Ang Phu slipped and fell to his death during descent through the Hornbein Couloir
Hornbein Couloir
The Hornbein Couloir is a steep gorge high on the northern side of Mount Everest in Tibet, that lies west of the summit pyramid and extends to about 150 metres below the summit itself.Its companion to the east of the summit is the Norton Couloir....
.
The difficulty of the new West Ridge route is reflected by the fact that, as of 2000, 21 teams attempted it, but only 3 succeeded. The 1979 climb is considered one of the finest in the history of Everest, and Yugoslav state leadership even saw it as the all-time greatest national sporting achievement.
Božić second Himalayan ascent was Lhotse
Lhotse
Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth and is connected to Everest via the South Col. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres above sea level, Lhotse Middle is and Lhotse Shar is...
in 1981, with a Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n team via a new South face route. Although he failed to get to the summit, reaching 8150 metres (26,738.8 ft) in a solo climb on the south rock wall, Božić considered his Lhotse effort technically the most demanding and possibly his greatest Himalayan success. The following year, Božić summited Kang Guru
Kang Guru
Kang Guru is a mountain in the Manang region of Gandaki Zone. It the highest peak of the Larkya sub-range of the Nepalese Himalayas. The Larkya range lies northwest of Mansiri Himal and northeast of the Annapurnas.- 2005 accident :...
with two Croatian climbers.
The 1983 expedition to Manaslu
Manaslu
Manaslu , also known as Kutang) is the eighth highest mountain in the world, and is located in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. Its name, which means "Mountain of the Spirit", comes from the Sanskrit word Manasa, meaning "intellect" or "soul"...
ended in disaster when Nejc Zaplotnik and Ante Bućan were killed in an ice avalanche. Božić returned to the same mountain a year later in a successful climb with Slovenian climber Viki Grošelj. In 1985 Božić was climbing in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
: Eiger
Eiger
The Eiger is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends across the Mönch to the Jungfrau at 4,158 m...
via the classic north face route, and Grandes Jorasses
Grandes Jorasses
The Grandes Jorasses is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif.The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain was by Horace Walker with guides Melchior Anderegg, Johann Jaun and Julien Grange on 30 June 1868...
via the Cassin route.
Božić returned to Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
in 1989, with a Macedonian expedition. An easier route was used, but the ascent was difficult for Božić because, having caught a bad cold, he suffered from hallucination
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
s, and did not have a full recollection of the events afterwards. Macedonian member of the team Dimitar Ilievski died on the mountain. Božić's successful ascent on 10 May made him only the second European, after Reinhold Messner
Reinhold Messner
Reinhold Messner is an Italian mountaineer and explorer from Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol "whose astonishing feats on Everest and on peaks throughout the world have earned him the status of the greatest climber in history." He is renowned for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without...
, to climb Mount Everest twice.
After a successful climb to Kanchenjunga (1991) and an unsuccessful one to Annapurna
Annapurna
Annapurna is a section of the Himalayas in north-central Nepal that includes Annapurna I, thirteen additional peaks over and 16 more over ....
(1992), Božić climbed K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
in 1993. The expedition's progress was smooth until shortly before the top of the climb, when the weather worsened. Božić, Viki Grošelj, Carlos Carsolio
Carlos Carsolio
Carlos Carsolio Larrea is a Mexican mountain climber. Carsolio is known for being the fourth man and the second youngest to climb the world's 14 eight-thousander mountain peaks, all of them without supplementary oxygen .- Early years :Carsolio, the eldest of...
and Zvonko Požgaj were only able to touch the summit, because standing on it would have been impossible due to high winds. On the way back, the team got lost in the snowstorm, but ultimately managed to get to base four, where they found Boris Sedej and Boštjan Kekec. The latter was in distress, showing symptoms of hypoxia
Hypoxia (medical)
Hypoxia, or hypoxiation, is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise...
, his condition worsening. Due to the urgency of the situation, Sedej, Požgaj and Božić descended with Kekec through the snowstorm. Soon Kekec was unable to walk and became unresponsive, and the trio pulled him through the deep snow. When this became physically too difficult and when Požgaj began to suffer from frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
, they decided to leave Kekec to die on the mountain. Božić was affected by snow blindness
Snow blindness
Photokeratitis or ultraviolet keratitis is a painful eye condition caused by exposure of insufficiently protected eyes to the ultraviolet rays from either natural or artificial sources. Photokeratitis is akin to a sunburn of the cornea and conjunctiva, and is not usually noticed until several...
and barely made it to safety, using only the climbing rope to direct himself back to the base camp.
Stipe Božić completed the Seven Summits
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...
in 2000. The sequence of his climbs was: Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
(1974), Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
(1979 and 1989), Aconcagua
Aconcagua
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas at . It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Argentine province of Mendoza and it lies west by north of its capital, the city of Mendoza. The summit is also located about 5 kilometres from San Juan Province and 15 kilometres from the...
, Mount McKinley
Mount McKinley
Mount McKinley or Denali in Alaska, United States is the highest mountain peak in North America and the United States, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.- Geology and features :Mount McKinley is a granitic pluton...
, Mount Kosciuszko
Mount Kosciuszko
Mount Kosciuszko is a mountain located in the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park. With a height of 2,228 metres above sea level, it is the highest mountain in Australia...
and Kilimanjaro (all 1996), Mount Vinson (1997), and Elbrus (2000).
In 2003 Božić expressed his desire to climb Mount Tyree
Mount Tyree
Mount Tyree is the second highest mountain of Antarctica located 13 kilometres northwest of Vinson Massif , the highest peak on the continent....
, the second highest mountain of Antarctica. This would have made him the first person in the world to climb two highest peaks on each of the seven continents, i.e. to complete both Seven Summits
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...
and Seven Second Summits
Seven Second Summits
The Seven Second Summits are the second highest mountains of each of the seven continents. All of these mountain peaks are separate peaks rather than a sub-peak of the continents' high point...
.
Filmmaking career and other activities
Božić has been photographing and filming his climbing experiences since his ascent to NoshaqNoshaq
Noshaq is the highest mountain in Afghanistan and the second highest independent peak of the Hindu Kush after Tirich Mir . Noshaq is located in the northeastern corner of the country along the Durand line which marks the border with Pakistan. It is the westernmost peak in the world...
in 1975, made into a television documentary Hindukush '75 for RTV Sarajevo. He carried a camera to Mount Everest in 1979, when he refused to jettison it even in the most difficult circumstances. Božić went on to carry a camera on nearly all of his Himalayan expeditions. He has directed more than 60 documentary films, among them a documentary series Sedam vrhova (Seven Summits), which is also the name of his autobiography published in 2003.
For a while, Božić worked as a journalist, and wrote articles for Slobodna Dalmacija
Slobodna Dalmacija
Slobodna Dalmacija is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split.The first issue of Slobodna Dalmacija was published on June 17, 1943 by Tito's Partisans in a cave on Mosor, a mountain near Split, which was occupied by the Italian army during that time. The paper was later published in various...
, Večernji list
Vecernji list
Večernji list is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Zagreb.The newspaper was started in the 1950s and it is today one of two largest daily newspapers in Croatia...
, and National Geographic.
During the Croatian War of Independence
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
Božić used to assist the Croatian Army in mountainous regions of Croatia that were war zones. In February 1992 he was wounded by shrapnel.
Besides mountaineering Božić has been also involved in speleology
Speleology
Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form and change over time...
and desert exploration. In 1994 he descended into Lukina jama, the 1392 metres (4,566.9 ft) deep pit which is a part of the Velebit cave complex
Velebit caves
The Velebit mountain of Croatia has several deep caves with some of the world's largest subterranean vertical drops."Lukina jama" cave is 1392 m deep , the deepest cave in Croatia and the deepest in southeast Europe...
. His 11-part documentary series Pustinje svijeta (Deserts of the World), premiered in early 2010, was produced by the Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite...
.
For more than 30 years Božić has been volunteering for the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, and is currently the head of its Split branch. He took part in hundreds of search and rescue operations, most notably in the helicopter evacuation of thirteen dead and injured firefighters from Kornat island in August 2007.
Personal life
Stipe Božić is married to Vera, a civil construction engineer. The two met in BormioBormio
Bormio is a town and comune located in the province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy. It has a population of 4,200...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1980, where Stipe, who is a certified ski instructor, gave ski lessons. Together they have two daughters, Maja (born c. 1988) and Iva (born c. 1990). His wife climbed Kilimanjaro with him in 1996.
Stipe had a son, Joško (born 1975), from his first marriage. Joško was, like his father, a mountain climber and a rescuer for the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service. He was killed with his wife Ana in a motorcycle accident in June 2007.