Our unstoppable mountain hero - Boyan Petrov. An amazing Bulgarian

I hope you find his story as inspirational as I do :)
He is two times cancer survivor, a type 1 diabetic since 18 years, 45 years old man who says that he wakes up every morning thinking about his project - « A Bulgarian at 14х8000”. He is our best alpiniste - Boyan Petrov. And he is unstoppable! So far he has climbed 10 of the fourteen 8000+ m peaks, which makes him the Bulgarian with the highest number of climbed peaks over 8000. The year before the first one he broke his leg in the Alps. After climbing the first one, he was hit by a car, while driving his motor, he was again with broken leg, and after the 8th one, he was hit again by a car on an autoroute while doing an ecological research (he is an ecologist). He had broken ribs, broken leg, many fractures and his life was in danger. That happened in august, 2016, but in december the same year he started training again and the next year - 2017, he managed to climb 2 more of the eight thousanders.

Boyan Petrov - Nanga Parbat

In one interview he was asked if he was thinking that that was the end of his project after the accident and he answered that he hadn’t thought so neither then, neither when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2000 and that these obstacles only motivated him more. He actually started his project with the personal mission to show all the people who has type 1 diabetes that it doesn’t mean that they can’t do incredible things because of the disease.
And since 2000 he has climbed 19 peaks over 5000m proving that.
All his ascents so far are done without using supplementary oxygen.

Boyan Petrov - K2

In 2016 he made a world record by climbing Broad Peak and K2 in 8 days, and the legendary mountaineer Reinhold Messner sent him a video to congratulate him.

In both 2014 and 2016 he managed to climb 3 8000+peaks which was a top achievement in the history of the bulgarian alpinisme.
On four of the 8000+ peaks he was the first Bulgarian that climbed them.

« I aim to be maximally pure and honest to the mountain in each of my ascents. I’ve never hired sherpas, and I’ve never relied on anyone to do any part of my job on the route. I go alone with all my luggage and I am always well organized to handle with everything alone in the mountains. The mountains are the place where I find inspiration, it is my work place, I am a zoologist and I also work there. I have an infinite respect and love towards all mountains. We are there only temporarily, they will continue to exist long after us, and somehow I feel responsible to infect other people with the desire to protect the mountains » - Boyan Petrov

Boyan Petrov - Broad Peak

Now he has only four left - Everest, Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Shishapangma. Wish him luck! :) Thanks for reading!

Images Source - http://boyanpetrov.com/