In 2014, as a prologue to the Feast of the White Virgin, the Basque association GEU of Vitoria-Gasteiz launched a new initiative, awarding the Heldu Burua Prize. If you like, the idea is not very original, but it is always good to give yours to each one, and to dress up the person or association who for years has distinguished himself for his work in favor of the Basque. For the first time, Pako Eizagirre was appointed an experienced professor. This year, for its part, the GEU association wanted to highlight the Mendira project that has completed twenty years of work, and thus, on behalf of the team, received the Gasteiztarra award Bego Ariznabarreta (Soraluze, 1953). “But the whole team was with me. We are a team and we work as a team. That’s one of the features.”

Two friends walking to the mountain

In the machete square of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Ariznabarreta had to swear on a machete, in which they strongly promise that, in the next twenty years at least, they will act in favor of the Basque. “And if we don’t, we’ve been told they’ll cut our necks! Ja, ja…”. Despite the jokes and the games of words, the mountain turned 20 years in February with the GEU. “Twenty years ago, we were two women 40 years old, Maite Mendiburu and I, and we had children. They were starting to walk and go out alone, so we also had free spaces, like Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, and those intervals we started to take advantage of for the mountain.” And once again, on one of those mountainous outings, Maite Mendiburuk to Bego Ariznabarreta: “We should make a mountain group composed of Basques!” It was Maite's idea. I said yes, but nothing else. However, by then we were already part of the GEU association, so one day Maite told me that I was going to publish an ad in Geu magazine. Said and done: ‘On Sunday, at 9:00 in the morning, in front of the Txapela bar, depart to Ezkibel’. We didn’t know anybody was coming, but we met thirty-six people!”

Bego Ariznabarreta followed the idea of Maite Mendiburu, became accomplices those who were formerly friends and friends, and soon after they called people to a meeting: “And we became a group. Since then there have been movements of people, of course, some have gone wrong, others have taken other paths, but we have always kept that team spirit.” Within the GEU Association there is an intention to go to the mountain with the GEU: “We created a special section within the partnership and so on. We have been the activity of the partnership for twenty years, and so we want to be for a long time.”

Organizing, easy

Once a month, the excursions take place on the third Sunday, and despite the summer holidays, up to 200 trips have been made in these twenty years: “Sometimes they are festivities in favor of the Basque Country that third Sunday of the month, and then we adapt our departure, we go to the place where the festival is held and there we make the journey in some mountain of the area, or if not, we change our day of mount”. In twenty years, the name of the alleged injured mountaineer, according to the same sources, has not been mentioned before. What comes to the quote is that the mountain is always on the go. “We have avoided complications in these twenty years. We have always tried to do everything we can with few things, to make the way easy.” Throughout the day, however, the names of the people who participated in the Geurekin mendira initiative have been made known, with the aim of facilitating relations. In this way, the spider web has also developed over these twenty years.

The Basque mountaineers meet at the end of June, after the last exit, to set the mountainous outings of the subsequent season. They usually collect proposals, decide the list and determine the guides and responsible for each trip.

He who knows is aware that mountaineering has had great ups and downs in our peoples. Many groups have been thrown away, the mountaineer has taken other paths. “We were thirty-six people on the first day, but it has happened that on the margins of the Ría the snow and on the date only two people appeared, who left in the snow. On the other hand, as you do not need to point out, no one has any commitment. When sixty-five people came to us, I remember that. We were going to go to Txindoki. It was February, but a summer week ago and Sunday a lot of people went to the mountain. The bus was already ordained, but it had fifty-five seats! Ten people had to go in two cars to Larraitz, and from there we headed for the way up.” Currently, the average number of people meeting is less than 20. The hiker's age is also there. “In our case, at first there were many kids. Among others, our children, and with them, often also their friends. Twenty years have passed, we are now twenty years older and, of course, the average of our mountaineer has increased. Young people are usually between 18 and 19 years old, but most of us are over 40 years old. This has happened in all mountain groups.” As you can see, most of the mountaineers who congregate on the tour are Vitorians, although there are also some specimens of Álava, and there have also been some of Gipuzkoa, both Aretxabaleta and Segura, for example.

The mountain, in Basque

That is the motto they have since their beginnings, “Mendia euskaraz”. They wanted it in our ever-new old language, and that's what they're still in today. “We have long realized that we needed spaces to work for the Basque people in Álava. In any event, it is enough to force all of us to do so in a Castilian way. He has ever come from Castilian, but we have not changed the language. We have had to find out about our initiative and we have had to hear some time that we are discriminating against, but, wow!, whoever goes to a cycling race doesn't think about going without a bicycle, right? You don’t have to come to the mountain without the Basque.” As Ariznabarreta tells us, they act in the most natural way, have joined their purpose from the beginning and remain united to that purpose. “Our motto is ‘Euskara eta mendia’.”

From the sky we know that the mountain is more than sport or physical exercise, at least in this way. “I would highlight the beauty of the environment, that connection that is created between us. You can see that we all have something in common, that we love the Mt. Euskera. There is always a very nice atmosphere, and we have met many Euskaldunes, many!, over these years”. They have not looked at each other. They have opened doors and windows and maintained contacts with other collectives, both inside and outside the capital of Alavesa. The list includes the Bagare Association, Euskaraz Bizi, the Mintzalagunak of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the South North of Segura, the veteran mountaineers of the Goierri, the Gurasolagunak and others.

Twenty years in February, the prize is the prelude to the La Blanca festivities and, as it has been so far, they are very keen to go ahead. “Twenty years, and we haven’t gotten tired! The friendly atmosphere among us also helps. They also do it once a month. Mountain groups carry out their excursions every Sunday. We are of humble objectives, a group without rivalry – which is very important – and in our exits we only ask to love the Basque and the mountain”.

Thus, on 20 September, the programme for this season was kicked off. They were going to Beraza-Bagate-Aloria. On 25 October, the Ganekogorta-Kamaraka-Laudio is planned. November, Urbased Bargarain. In December, Orkatzategui and Ametzueta-Araotz tests will take place.

The date is the third Sunday of each month in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the parking lot of Mendizorroza, opposite the Ogeta fronton, at eight and a half in the morning. There with the GEU to the mountain, the verse of Lizardi in the heart and lips: I like tops and not lights. "Oh, if it were a bird, I'd be on top of me!" “The words of Lizardi perfectly envelop our spirit,” Bego Ariznabarreta said.