GuramVashakmadze is a rare pearl: he
is very modest and well-behaved, always smiling and polite, courageous and
inventive, he loves his country and knows it's history in a such a way that it
is astounding! GuramVashakmadze is young, restless in hart. Being close to Mother
Nature he became very wise. I remember one thing he said to me, while we were
climbing a steep mountain on our way to Gergeti Trinity Church (from XIV
century), situated above village Gergeti in Georgia (2170 m). We were talking
about liaisons, and Guram Vashakmadze said a very wise thing: if a person
cannot accept who you are, you should not be with that person. He learned that
the hard way – climbing mountain tops.
You study at Leopold
Franzens University Innsbruck – Faculty of Political sciences - 3rd
semester and at Free University of Tbilisi - Faculty of Governance and Social
Sciences - 4thcourse. How do you do it and why?
At the present moment I study at the
Free Uni of Tbilisi, 8th semester which is the last one on my way to
bachelor degree. I took an academic pause in Innsbruck. To be honest I think I
could have been way better in my academic life than I do now. But as long as I
spent a lot of time in other for me very important things I do not regret past
4 years at all. I regard myself as a good student. I think I could be in the
best 20% of the class.
Is that the reason why
you know so much about your country and it’s history…
My knowledge of my country and
history consists of all those experiences and information which I gathered from
the academic and nonacademic activities, like school, university sports,
mountaineering and relations and connections with a lot of people from
different regions of Georgia.
The whole history of Georgia is a saga
of bloody wars, heroic stories and political games between huge empires and
little states. I would like to mention Didgori battle from 12th
century. United Georgia under King David IV with 40.000 went against Islamic
coalition of 200.000 men and beat them. This battle determined the future of
whole Caucasus and the Holy Land.
What do you love the
most about your country?
The diversity of nature and the
possibility of extraordinary life which it gives to me.
I
choose to be an assistant guide deliberately, because being a guide is a huge
responsibility, it requires knowledge and experience. The guide must be cold
minded and fully concentrated on his duty, sometimes it’s the matter of life
and death. As an assistant guide I have opportunity to learn more from
experienced mountaineers and don’t stress myself way too much. It is always
difficult to work in extreme conditions, especially on high altitude, even if
there is no emergency situation. The guides always have to control the
condition of the group and take safety measuresat the same time. Sometimes
guides behave against the will of their clients, even if it could result in a
conflict between them, but we should not regret this. Safety first!
How old were you when
you started climbing?
I started climbing at the age of 12.
Why do you love
climbing?
There is some kind of special
feeling which I get only in the mountains. The feeling of freedom and the
feeling that your fate is only in your hands and what happens next depends on
your decisions.
I was 15 when I first climbed Mt.
Kazbegi. The ascent was one of the most horrible experiences I’ve ever had. J I was super exhausted morally and
physically. I felt the whole greatness of my achievement only on the way back
to Stepantsminda when I looked back at the summit’s white shining hat.
“Uplistikhe Challenge” was the
project of National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia.
Uplistikhe is ancient cave city of Georgia, located in Shida Kartli region,
near Mtskheta.
The project included sportive and intellectual activities into one relay-race
competition. I was part of it and took part in organizing the whole event.
You are a member of a national
freestyle ski team of Georgia. How old were you when you started skiing?
I started skiing at the age of 3.
You took part in
various international competitions like World winter Universiade and FIS
freestyle World Championships. Did you win and when and where?
On World Championship in Kreischberg
2015, Austria I ended up 42nd which counted to be a good result
considering the preparing conditions in Georgia. My best international result
is 18th Place at the World Universiade Trento 2013. I continue my
training and hope for better results in future on EU cup in Austria, st. Anton.
I won domestic championships 2 times in 2014, 2015 and ended 2nd
once in 2013.
You also took part in
a freeriding ski
competition. Were you any good?
On a scale of international level I
believe that I am better freerider than freestyle skier. I won Georgian
Freeride Tours in 2012, 2013 and Georgian Universiade in 2014.
As a rugby player you
participated in a rugby competitions and Universiade at Rugby Championship of Georgia…
Like
many others I started playing rugby while I was still a kid. I won Georgian
rugby B league championship among youth (15-16 of age) and following year got a
silver medal in A league (17-18). I also played several professional games in
Georgia’s highest league for R. C. Jiqebi (snow leopards). I stopped playing
rugby professionally because of education and skiing.
You also took part in
a diving Championship of Georgia…
Ah… yeah that was a while ago :D Diving
was my first sport in which I got some passion. Still as a kid (I think I was 8
or 9) I took part in Georgian Championship among children and got 2nd.
I remember I got no silver medal but a diploma and big box of car toys.
You are worried about Georgia’s
struggling with the ecological problems and suffering from pollution and
landscape degeneration. What are you doing to change it?
Georgia is a developing country. Our
economy grows pretty fast and situation changes from year to year. This is the
reason why our people cannot adapt to new realities mentally, economically and
infrastructuraly. The problem lies not only in the system of governing but in
the education as well. We need to learn how to maximize ecological protection
level and increase our wealth at the same time and this should start already at
schools. As an athlete and mountain/trekking guide I am always promoting the
pollution control and environment protection. Our national ski team several
times cleaned slopes and gorges in the Caucasus. We tried to show an example of
peaceful cohabitation with Mother Nature. Unfortunately at the moment I am not
actively involved in those activities but I am sure soon or later I will get
back to it.
Is there room for
cooperation between our two countries when ecology is in question? How can we
help each other?
Georgia is a mountainous country
which has specific landscape and the matter of ecology is also specific here.
Georgians have good experience in working on high altitudes which could be
useful for any other country. On the other hand we are in lack of technologies
and educational and informative projects.
What are the most
important features of Georgia?
“Melting pot of culture”,
extraordinary mix of European and Asian civilizations, first human kind being
on the border of Europe (Dmanisi hominid 1.8 million years old),
Caucasus mountain range – huge wall which divides north and south Caucasus,
absolutely unique language and writing system which doesn’t belong to any
language family.
In what way do you try
to improve tourism in your country?
Nowadays I am trying to promote
extreme sports in Georgia, which are actually world’s widest increasing sports
in terms of popularity and commercial interests. I am especially trying to push
extreme skiing on the frontline of our winter tourism business. I believe that
freeriding, touring and freestyle skiing could make our winter resorts most
popular in the region and famous among European and American market. Also it
develops skiing culture and makes the connection between human and nature
stronger.
Why should one visit
Georgia?
By visiting Georgia you could
discover whole new continent in one tiny country, with huge and peaceful
diversity of cultures, languages, people, landscapes, cuisine and so on… From
high and mythical mountains of Svaneti
via beautiful vineyards of Racha
and Imereti
you could travel to subtropical beaches of Black see. In one day you could
sneak into jungles of Mtirala
and at the same day go back to super urbanized city of Batumi, enjoying nice
sunny weather and swim in the Black sea. The religious life of Georgia and the
strength of the church make this country even more unique for tourists. The old
cave cities and south-eastern deserts will attract anyone who likes safari.
Shortly: ALL IN ONE! Visit Georgia! :)
Interview by
Tamara Lujak
Uplistsikhe ("the lord's
fortress") is an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, some 10
kilometers east of the town of Gori, Shida Kartli. Built on a high rocky left
bank of the Mtkvari River, it contains various structures dating from the early
Iron age to the late Middle ages, and is notable for the unique combination of
various styles of rock-cut cultures from anatolia and Iran, as well as the
co-existence of pagan and Christian architecture.
