Oleksandr V. Zakolodnyi (Skala)

Zakolodnyi Oleksandr Ivanovych was born on April 8, 1987, in Kharkiv. He received higher education at the Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture. He was passionate about tourism and mountaineering. He worked as a coach at the Kharkiv Climbing Center "Vertykal". Since 2020, he has held the position of Chairman of the Mountaineering Committee of the Federation of Mountaineering and Rock Climbing of Ukraine and Vice President of the FAIMU. He participated in three expeditions to eight-thousanders: in the spring of 2010 - to Mount Makalu (Himalayas, 8481m); in the fall of 2010 - to Mount Cho-Oyu (Himalayas, 8201m); in 2013 - to Mount Nanga Parbat (Himalayas, 8126m). At the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, he evacuated his family to Lviv, and then returned to his hometown and helped people evacuate. As part of the territorial defense, he defended Kharkiv, after which he joined the special unit "Kraken" and went to the front line. He was killed on January 21, 2023, during the battles for the city of Soledar in the Donetsk region. He was buried in the Alley of Glory in Kharkiv. He is survived by his wife and four children.