“Mountains are a moral reset.” Konanykhina and Gurbanberdieva stormed Elbrus together off-season

European Diving Champion Anna Konanykhina and world champion in synchronized swimming Maya Gurbanberdieva Together we conquered Elbrus this summer.

How it all started, who the idea was, we talked about everything over the last summer month.

Maya Gurbanberdieva: Of course, we knew each other before. We and the jumpers train at Krugly, so somehow in our events we know each other. And at the Olympics, she was supporting Anya.

Anna Konanykhina: There was another case. We have a common room where we store stuff on Krugly. Maya had the key, I needed it. It was late in the evening, I had to take the key from them to take things. I also wrote to Maya at the time, although it’s unclear if they were still training or not – synchronized swimming is still behind in the pool.

In general, we began to communicate with social networks, I posted touching messages, and Maya wrote to me afterwards.

– I understand that Maya had climbing experience before?

Mayan: Yes, but it was mostly hiking, trekking, rock climbing in Altai, but that’s another story. I planned this climb a year ago. In February, I contacted my guide and flew to this party! And then in the spring Anya writes to me that she had the idea of ​​climbing Elbrus. So I called her with me, and literally half a day later she said, “That’s it, let’s go together.”

– Anna, that is to say that you decided to climb Elbrus in half a day?

Anna Konanykhina: I thought about it for a long time and decided for a long time, it just happened at that time – I was already mentally prepared. And, above all, we have long holidays, which means a chance to realize this dream this year. I was looking for different guides, then I remembered that Maya had written about it in her articles. So I wrote to Maya, asked the coach if I could do this climb. I received the green light and started to prepare for the trip.

– Anna, and I don’t think you have ever conquered a height of more than 10 meters?

Anna: Climbed even higher! Once sat on a tree for 12 hours. Our school organized tent camps, I was a member of the Petersburg Youth Union. We went camping for three weeks. So I already knew the hiking conditions.

Here, in these campaigns, there were tests for which they gave badges. My test was to sit on a tree: you pick a pine tree and sit on it. I climbed high, looking for a good comfortable tree, with such a good branch to sit on comfortably.

Mayan: Crazy, haha.

– That is to say that you would not climb a pine tree?

Mayan: Well, I don’t know. Anya would have climbed. I would also take a book with me.

– Anna, there is an opinion that if you go with one of our synchronized swimmers to a desert island, you will definitely not get lost. Confirm this theory?

Anna: Yes. In fact, the people we were walking with thought we had gotten sick with the “minor” before Cheget. They were constantly laughing. Amused everyone.

Mayan: About the desert island, I think it’s true. For example, I kept complaining that my trunk was too heavy and that all the equipment didn’t fit. Suddenly, we arrive in a high camp: someone needs an extension cord – I have it, I need something else – I have that too.

Anna: She had the largest volume – 140 liters, the men were surprised: what did she have there? But she really had it all! More importantly, M&M’s was there to save her.

– Now everything is in such tension, there are no international departures, psychologically all this is not easy. Mountains – moral rest?

Anna: Yes!

Mayan: Definitely a rest, a moral reset, if you don’t take a specific day of ascension. On the assault itself, you must muster all the will that is. It’s very hard, climbing on morale and iron will. But even this, of course, works for the benefit, because it is a change of activity.

Anna: I was very worried when we parted because she left at 11am, we are at 4pm. As a result, they did not cross paths, did not know what was going on there.

But it really is the best way to reboot. You go and think: who are you, why are you, what are your plans for the future, what needs to be done, what needs to be let go. And the environment helps a lot in all that, my head started to work differently. The situation that happened at the Olympics, I started to let go. After that climb, I stopped being so pinched, as I had been for the past three years.

Mayan: Well, I overcame my fear of heights. I was terribly afraid. Hell!

– So the next step for Maya is to jump off a 10m tower?

Mayan: Before this fear appeared in me, I jumped 15m, then the moment came when I was afraid to stand on a chair to get something from the top shelf.

Anna: When Maya is asked about the jump, in this case I say that you have to jump in “synchronism”, because there is a particular psychology, a particular responsibility and a general mood.

“And Maya knows a lot about synchronicity!”

Anna: That’s for sure! So, maybe one day such a leap will take place.