Mountains and skiing were a true passion of Olek Ostrowski. He realised his life's desires with courage," said Marek Kuchciński, the Marshal, while handing over the prizes to the best contestants of the ski run in Bieszczady.

Olek Ostrowski Memorial, as the event was called, was organized for the third time. The competition commemorates the GOPR-operator, ski-alpinist who died in 2015 in Karakorum.

No wonder that at the start line there were rescuers from almost all GOPR groups in Poland and representatives of border guards. In total, 54 skitters set off on the route, who had to overcome the demanding route from Wetlina, where Olek was born. The competition was supposed to end in Ustrzyki Górne, but the gusty wind reaching 80 km/hr in the mountains was too much of a threat. Finally the way through Połonina Wetlinska to Brzegi Górne was covered by Olek's brother Tomasz with Jan Koza. The route, which during the summer is covered by tourists in about 5 hours, was covered in an hour and a quarter.

Aleksander Ostrowski, who was mentioned by Marek Kuchciński, was an extraordinary man. He combined his love to mountains with sport passion. However, he always cared about others. That was one of the reasons why he became a rescuer of Bieszczady GOPR Group.

He received the prestigious "Colossus" award for his ski descent from the eight-thousand-foot Cho Oyu (he did it as the first Pole in 2014). The monthly magazine "National Geographic" recognized it as "Stunt of the Year." Unfortunately, a year later, on July 25, 2015, his summit attack on Gasherbrum II (8035m) failed. During the descent he was most likely carried away by an avalanche. The mountains took him with them forever.

text by M. Olejnik

Photo Ł. Błasikiewicz