THE MOUNTAIN

VIRGINIA GIL SUÁREZ

WELCOME MESSAGE

From the beginning of my life, I have loved the Mountains, perhaps because I was born in one of them, in a small village called Otero, in lands of El Bierzo, in the northern Spanish province of León. Later, and in recent times, my love for a mountaineer led me to know this world and see how interesting and complex it is. That is why I have tried to exalt the art of the Mountains, as I consider it to be an art. I have kept for a long time a quote by Goethe that my deceased friend Mertxe taught me, a quote concerning acts of initiative and creation. There is one elementary truth -says the German author-, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.
Well, I start with this web page, on which I have pinned my hopes, in order to try and show these programmes dedicated to the Mountains broadcast on Radio 5 Todo Noticias -Radio 5 All news-, of Radio Nacional de España -Spain’s National Radio.
In each of these mini-programmes, which we call “quesitos”, I have tried to launch a message. It is difficult to do it in such a short space of time, but either for the personage, for the structure, or even for the music, I have tried to make everybody get the subliminal message.
As in these programmes, I have spoken with young climbers of Patones and La Pedriza -in the province of Madrid-, with blind women who have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, with experts on the “Big Wall” technique, with celebrities such as Reinhold Messner or Lynn Hill, with the always friendly and genial César Pérez de Tudela, with Senator, as well as outstanding Himalayist, Luis Fraga, with elderly mountaineers who are head and shoulders above many young ones and who summarize their life in 34 books, like Agustín Faus, also with many anonymous people such as “Toñín” the Asturian, and with many others such as young Pole Jasiek Mela, who amazed me.
Some other people who did not abide by the rules and preferred to climb barefooted in Riglos -near the Pyrenees-, or Mountaineers like Juanito Oyarzabal, who has got off the skies. Or alpinist women such as Chus Lago, Edurne Pasabán, Josune Bereziartu or Catherine Destivell, just to cite some of those who have taken part in this gallery, which I am trying to show you here...

                                       Virginia Gil- Suárez

LA MER DE GLACE, ALPES

FOTO JOSE LUIS ECHAIDE , EL CIRCO DE LOS ALTARES

e-mail: virginiagilsuarez@telefonica.net