Wherever he went, he left traces behind. In the Tatras, atop world-class peaks, and in the hearts and minds of many. A founding member of the Mountain Rescue Service, Ivan Gálfy was responsible for bringing it up to European standards as its chief. He was a pioneer of Slovak mountaineering, and his 1971 ascent of Nanga Parbat was the Eastern Bloc’s first successful summiting of an eight-thousander. Six more expeditions would follow. Thanks to Gálfy, Slovakia was among the world’s Himalayan elite. “Upon their return from the first expedition up an eight-thousander, the mountaineers were welcomed by the president, and the whole republic saw them as heroes. What was it that made us Himalayan trendsetters back then? Was it the strength of our team that enabled us to achieve the impossible? Or was it the chance to get out of communist Czechoslovakia? Why doesn’t today’s generation have the courage to set goals like the ones our mountaineers did a half-century ago? Or have they found other goals? Through his friends’ words, we chart the visions of a man who dared to pursue his dreams and ended up inspiring the finest Czechoslovak mountain climbers.” (Pavol Barabáš)