Khergiani, Mikhail Vissarionovich

Mikhail Khergiani was the son of one of the first climbers of Svaneti, Vissarion Khergiani, the conqueror of Ushba in 1937 . His uncle and cousin are also climbers.

Chumlian spent his childhood and youth in Svaneti . From childhood I listened to stories about ascents, wandered around the mountains, climbed rocks, practiced skiing and national wrestling.

Hergiani spoke of his name:

I have ... three names. My real name is Chumlian. That's what they called me at baptism in honor of one of our distant ancestors. My second name is Minan, that is what my father, brothers, sisters and closest relatives call me at home. And my third Russian name is Mikhail. Misha, Michael baptized me for the first time in the school of mountaineering instructors, could not pronounce Chumlian. And now I have written in my passport: "Mikhail Khergiani."

In 1950 he graduated from 9 classes of a comprehensive school, in 1951 - the School of Mountaineering instructors of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions. In 1952-1956 he worked as an instructor in the Metallurg climber camp (Adyr-su gorge). Since 1956 - Head of the Spartak Climbing Rescue Team (Shkheld gorge).

Doom

Mikhail Khergiani died when he attempted a record climb to the 700-meter wall of Mount Sualto (Civetta massif) in the Italian Dolomites .

In the summer of 1969, a group of Soviet climbers went to the Italian Alps to make a number of spectacular climbs, planning to complete them with a record on Mount Su Alto . Muscovite Vyacheslav Onishchenko went to the last route with Khergiani. Hergiani, who came first, fell off and began to fall down with a pile of large stones. Onishchenko, who was behind the bend, did not see the moment of breakdown, but he heard a roar and a scream, prepared for a jerk. There was a jerk, but the rope loosened right away: the stones that followed Khergiani broke it.

In total, Khergiani flew along the sidelines of about 600 meters and crashed on stones. The climber was buried in his native village of Mestia in Georgia.

• 1946 - received the badge "Climber of the USSR".
• 1952 - fulfilled the standards of the II category in mountaineering and became the champion of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions in Climbing.
• 1956 - master of sports of the USSR. Champion of the USSR for the first ascent of the northern wall of Tyuti-Bashi (together with Yu. Murzaev, L. Zanilov and A. Sinkovsky).
• 1957 - 3rd place at the USSR Championship for the first ascent of the northwestern wall of Donguz-Orun in a double with Joseph Kahiani .
• 1963 - Honored Master of Sports of the USSR .
• 1964 - USSR champion, Ushba in the mirrors (as part of the group: Misha Hergiani (cousin), Shaliko Margiani, Jumber Kahiani, Givi Tserediani and Jokia Gugava).
• 1966 - Order of the Badge of Honor for outstanding sports achievements.

In total, Mikhail Khergiani seven times became the champion of the USSR in climbing. For his ability to go through difficult rocky routes with incredible speed, he received the nickname "Tiger Rocks" from English climbers. .

• In 1971, the Khergiani Climbing Prize was established.
• The Khergiani Rock in Crimea was named in his honor, which served as the venue for a series of climbing competitions; peak in the Turkestan ridge in the Pamir-Alai ; mountaineering sector ^[1] and route ^[2] in the Vrachansky massif in Bulgaria.
• Plaques are installed in the Shkheld alpine camp, on Krestovoy Mountain near Yalta, on a rock in the village of Nikita (Crimea), on the top of Su-Alto.
• Vladimir Vysotsky dedicated the song “To the summit (In memory of Mikhail Khergiani)” (“You walk along the edge of the glacier ...”); also poems about Khergiani were written by Yuri Vizbor (“In memory of Mikhail Khergiani”), Yevgeny Yevtushenko (“Rope of Khergiani”).
• In the song of Yuri Vizbor “Third Pole” there is a line “there is heard the voice of Misha Khergiani”.
• Every summer, “Misha's Day” took place in Mestia - holidays dedicated to Khergiani.
• In 1985, his memorial House Museum was organized in the homestead of Khergiani in Mestia.
• In 1987, the International Center for Small Planets at the Smithsonian Observatory in the USA, at the proposal of the discoverer, Soviet astronomer N.S. Chernykh , named Hergiani a small planet (3234 in the catalog of small planets) located in the asteroid ring between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter ^[3] .
• Under the wall of Sualto, next to the Tissi shelter, Italian climbers erected a monument to Mikhail Hergiani.

Books

• Kuznetsov A. “Below Svaneti”. - 1969 ^{[4] [5]}
• Oleg Kuvaev in 1970 wrote the story "Rushing to disastrous heights." It is based on the personal acquaintance of the author with M.V. Khergiani and I.G. Kakhiani.
• Burlakov Yu. "Climber". - M .: Physical Culture and Sports, 1979 (Series "Hearts Given to Sports")
• Berman A. "Among the elements." - M.: Physical education and sport, 1983. ^[6]
• Miron Khergiani . "Tiger Rocks." - M.: Soviet writer, 1989 ^{[7] [8]}

• Fragments of a personal file (neopr.) .
• About Michael Khergiani (neopr.) . Climbers Club "St. Petersburg".
• What do I remember about Misha Khergiani, or Dance with a rock (neopr.) . Climbers Club "St. Petersburg".
• About Michael Khergiani (neopr.) . Miho Mosulishvili .