Ivan Pirina, 49, the climbing doctor from Arzachena who was attempting to scale Mount Manaslu (8,163 meters) in the Nepalese Himalayas, has had to interrupt his attempt. "Unfortunately, this isn't an update I wanted to give you, but that's how things turned out, and we have to accept it," Ivan said.

"Giving up because you realize you're not prepared is difficult, but doing so because you contracted an infection that forced you to return to Kathmandu early and end up in hospital is even more excruciating." Ivan Pirina's bitterness and disappointment are understandable, but he is nevertheless careful to reassure his family and those who follow him with attention and enthusiasm .

"I want to reassure you all," he wrote, "about my condition; it's quite good, nothing too serious, but certainly incompatible with continuing such a climb. The goals were different, but the most important thing remains and will always be health (how could I put it differently as a doctor). It's especially disappointing that our flag, at least for this time, won't be flying on a mountaintop."

Ivan Pierina is referring to the Arzachena Municipality banner, which Tourism Councilor Claudia Giagoni presented to him on August 29th during the expedition's presentation in Piazza Risorgimento. A few days ago, on September 13th, Ivan had previously announced that there were still about 3,500 meters to go from the summit. "To get an idea of what that means," he explained, "imagine stacking Tavolara six or seven times and looking at it from sea level," he wrote.

Ivan Pirina, when he presented his undertaking to the Arzachena public, admitted that it was arduous, considering that only just over 30% of climbers manage to reach the summit, which is 8,163 meters high, almost twice that of Mont Blanc (which Pirina also climbed in 2020).

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