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6 bd 3 LOCAL WOMAN CONQUERS FIVE OF WORLD'S HIGHEST z MOUNTAINS KATHY YANCHUS: kyanchus@metroland.com | Thursday, September 15, 2022 | 2 je Beaver The first thing you no- tice is the serene pose. The woman inthe photo is seated, looking a from the camera, gazing into the distance, sun- glasses shielding her eyes from the glaring sun, her legs crossed at the ankles. She is composed, at peace. As your eyes take in the snow-covered peaks that surround her. And then it hits you that: shei is perched atop a mount Ba aioe Liliya Tanov" skaiaisath HEIGHTENED SENSE OF ADVENTURE do so, and for Liliya, the “savage mountain." ys after her 63rd. birthday, ond less than a month after her K2 climb, Liliya ascended Gasher- brum II, looming 8,035 me- tres among the peaks of the Karakoram. mountain range in Pakistan. To Liliya, the most sat- isfying climb was Everest, not only because it was with her daughter, but be- disappoint- ment that iene it and the perseverance it took to get there: in 2020, the expe- dition to Everest was can- celed, and in 2021, she test- ed positivefor COVID-19 on the eve of the summit push, ending her climb. “Each mountain re. quires full physical and steep, majestic peaks that populate t this Planet. Ate 83, the three connuorea tive of the hin est est untains in the orld, an incredible feat consi sidering she only gan mountaineering at 50, after the birth of her third aan In she and her youngest daughter, Dasha, summitted Mount Everest, becoming only the second mother-daughter team to mental an passion. I've never had an easy ascent” r, deserves a separate mention, sheadd- "K2 is ne stecs and unfor; ig. This mountain requires constant vigilance. One of the last major dangers to overcome before reaching the summit is the famous serac, massive sheets of ice that hang over you like a rrifying, giant sleeping ANCA A Ales) FIREWORKS insidehalton.com nb lanovskaia family photos Left, mother and daughter Liliya and Dasha lanovskaia celebrate at the top of the world after their successful summit of Mount Everest. Right, crossing a crevasse at Khumu icefall, Nepal. ian of the passage to the s summit,” she said. Gasherbrum II had its own terrifying moments when the expedition en- countered whiteout condi- Hons 2 as they executed nar- footpaths, an almost wien descent through deep snow and ice, no fixed ropes for safety and strong wi ite the Physical as as- sault on the body, ward of climbing is wmost of the time" greater than the suffering, said Liliya. “High altitude is very hard; you to go throngh enormous sft is type 2 fun, somethin: that (is) mostly appreciate ed when it is done and over. That is why high summits are so precious." When her mother Starts something, she's “all in,” said daughter Olya Ianov- skaia. When she took to yo- ga, she became a Kundali- ni yoga teacher. When she started running, marathons, including the Boston Marathon. Then she turned to rock clim- bing. "T don't think che ever that able to her. lam in awe. Ial- so worry about her; it's a dangerous passion.” Her mother is more con- Adent, more optimistic, re determined than er: erand it's wonderful to see, said Olya. Liliya said her mental stamina is tougher than she thought. said she has learned that when your ‘ind is strong, the body follows. After months of living in a tent in sub-zero tem- peratures, Liliya said she always looks forward sleeping in er own be But the next peak is never far from her mind, and she! 's planning a return to Nepal to attempt Kanchen- junga and Lhotse, the world's third and fourth highest peaks. But before that, there's rock climbing in Mexico and ice climbing in the Rockies this winter. "I think it's in my blood. Inever feel more alive a and present than when the mountains. When 12 lam inthe mountains, Ifeel like Ibelong." #EXPLORE INITNGTN GY Ng BOOK YOUR OVERNIGHT AT NIAGARAFALLSTOURISM.COM