Climbing
A little more than a week has passed since Andrzej Bargiel’s first ever ski descent of Mt. Everest back to base camp without supplemental oxygen, but the headlines do not stop breaking from the Himalaya. Manaslu, the eighth highest peak in the world at 26,781 feet, saw two age-related records this past week. Nima Chhiring Sherpa, who is just 16 years old, became the youngest person to ever summit Manaslu, and Carlos Soria Fontán became the oldest person ever at 86. When Soria started climbing at high altitudes in 1960, plastic ski boots hadn’t been invented yet and you could only choose between two types of ski materials: wood or aluminum. By the time 16-year-old Nima Chhiring started his climbing career, any skis getting taken to the Himalaya now would now be made exclusively of carbon fiber.
- Related: Polish Skier Completes First-Ever Ski Descent from Mt. Everest Summit Without Supplemental Oxygen
Soria has had a long career in high-altitude mountaineering, including a previous trip to Manaslu. Soria was part of Spain’s first expedition to Manaslu in 1975, where he made it to an elevation of approximately 7,000 meters. He would return in 2010 to finally reach the summit for the first time at the age of 71. Soria is the only person to have summited ten of the fourteen peaks above 8,000 meters after the age of 60. Soria bounced back from injury in 2023 after a fall above 7,000 meters that left him requiring a knee prosthesis. That injury barely slowed him down as he also climbed Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas at 22,837 feet.
Himalayan expeditions rely heavily on the weather for success, so a favorable weather window can bring success to climbers all over the mountain range. Bargiel, Nima Chhiring, and Soria were likely all patiently waiting for the same weather window for the chance for each of them to make history. As Warren Miller said, “If you don’t do it this year, you’ll be one year older when you do.”
