"Una cuadrilla de Legazpi", The Mountain Family
Pyrenees and mountains in your email
Here 🔥Many of you will surely see yourselves reflected in the stories and anecdotes told in this book. Any mountaineering group in the Basque Country could be the protagonist of this publication, but in this case it is ours. A group from Legazpi.
Several of those friends that Antxon made in this world have wanted to collaborate in this project: Gregorio Ariz, Casimiro Bengoechea, Ramon Malkorra, Rafel Vidaller and Carlos Carracedo, Ana Argote, Adolfo Madinabeitia, Iñaki Andreu, Saioa Carte Pérez, Edu Viñuales, or Kepa Lizarraga. And then there are the local collaborators who have taken part, such as Maribel Armendariz, Juan Carlos Agirre, Jesús Martínez Sánchez Dehesa, Aitor Casado, Txakel and the rest of the family who in one way or another have also contributed to this book.
It all began with Antxon. When he was eight years old he came to live in Brinkola, he met a person who changed his life (the teacher Don Avelino), and when he went down to live in Legazpi, he got together with a group of friends, a couple of years younger, and a friendship began that has lasted 50 years. On a personal level, there was a very good feeling The two of us hit it off perfectly and a team of climbers was born, which over the last 50 years has crossed different mountains in different mountain ranges around the world.
On the other hand, Antxon has been a key person in the Basque mountain world over the last 50 years.
He was the founder and driving force behind the Federation's rescue team. This team also developed a friendship among its members, which still exists today. He was one of the first qualified guides in the international association of high mountain guides. He joined the Benasque Mountain School from its beginnings as a teacher and, always with a good attitude and commitment, he worked hard to move this project forward. He spent many years as technical director of the federation. He was the right hand of the historic president Paco Iriondo, who loved him like a son. He took part in the first Zegama Aizkorri marathon, taking charge of security and all the medical aspects of the race. The organisers commented that Antxon was the race's "guardian angel".
And as for the mountaineering group that was born in Legazpi at the beginning of the 70s, it was the one that took the first steps for this family to get started in the mountains and 50 years later we are still walking in the mountains. We got together as young people with a lot of enthusiasm and a desire to get into the world of mountaineering and climbing. And Antxon was our climbing, skiing, canyoning, etc... teacher.
This mountaineering family has been changing its members, some people have left, others, such as Antxon and Mikel Oskoz, have passed away, and others have joined. Like Jesús "the Murcian". He landed in Legazpi, contacted us, and that same week he left for the mountains with his "new family". This anecdote is told in the book.
Even today, the hard core of the mountaineering family, we still go out every week in the mountains.
On one of these "San Jueves" routes, the idea came up of paying tribute to Antxon on the 5th anniversary of his death... and here we are with this book, which has been joined by many friends he had in different fields.
These two photographs were taken 50 years apart. In the course of those years our mountaineering group started out in the world of mountaineering and climbing with Antxon. Over the years we have climbed several mountain ranges all over the world such as Aizkorri, Pyrenees, Moncayo, Alps, Atlas, Andes or the Himalayas.
And today we still walk the paths and trails of the Basque mountains with the same enthusiasm as when we started out.
As Maribel says in the introduction, the members of this family have changed, for different reasons, but the project continues, in the hope that it will last for many years to come. This book is part of that project and we believe that it will serve to keep the memory of our friend Antxon alive.
📄 The Mountain Family is a book in which the author, friends and collaborators have shared their experiences of fifty years of walking in the mountains: the former as a symbol of freedom and friendship, the latter as a home and a place of union for this great mountaineering family.
In its pages we want to pay tribute to Antxon Burcio, and in them, stories full of anecdotes that happened in the mountains, told in first person and with the collaboration of those who knew Antxon in the mountain school of Benasque, in the "Zegama Aizkorri", in the rescue group, climbing the Moncayo or skiing in the Alps, are collected in a pleasant and passionate way.
Together with the author, Txusma Pérez Azaceta, have shared many of the stories told here, lived in mountains such as Aizkorri, Aralar, Pyrenees, Moncayo, Alps, Atlas, Aconcagua or the Himalayas.
The year 2025 will mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Antxon Burcio, a reference in many areas of the mountain world. All the ascents and stories written in this book are based on real events, and some of the identities or situations described may have been changed to protect the right to privacy.
In the book The Mountain Family we talk about our beginnings in mountaineering, climbing, expeditions, skiing... where each and every one of us will see ourselves reflected. We also talk about the dreams that Iñaki Ochoa de Olza had and that nowadays are being fulfilled through his SOS Himalaya Foundation. With this publication we want to do our bit by donating the royalties from the sale of the book to the Makalu Hospital in Nepal.
The royalties have been donated to the SOS Himalaya - Iñaki Ochoa de Olza Foundation for the construction of the Makalu Hospital.
In addition, we tell stories of rescue and safety in the natural environment, of the Izadi Zaleak society and we review various magazines and books related to the mountains. It is always a pleasure to feel recognised by the generations that follow us, and it gives us a sense of pride to see that they continue with enthusiasm their own discovery of the mountains. In short, this book is a tribute that the author and his friends want to offer to the person who left their mark on the path they continue to walk, and it is a journey through the experiences of a whole generation in the mountains.
