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Carlos Soria Climbs Annapurna at 77 Years Old and Sets Record

Spanish climber Carlos Soria has become the oldest person to climb Annapurna when he reached the summit of the 10th highest mountain last week. The 8,091-metre summit was his 12th 8,000-metre peak. He is also the oldest climber to stand on Kanchenjunga at 77, Manaslu at 71, Gasherbrum I at 70, Makalu at 69, Broad Peak at 68 and K2 at 65. He only need Shishapangma and Dhaulagiri to bag all 14 8,000-metre mountains. His first 8,000-metre peak was Nanga Parbat when he was 51. On Carlos Soria’s Facebook page, it read, “Carlos Soria and the expedition BBVA rise to the top of the Annapurna.” He reached the summit at 10 a.m. after leaving camp four at night. He now leaves Annapurna to attempt Dhaulagiri.

Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan stands on a mountain in this undeated file photo. Courtesy: Carlos Soria Fontan
Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan stands on a mountain in this undeated file photo. Courtesy: Carlos Soria Fontan

Soria was part of a group of 14 climbers and 16 Sherpas who reached the summit of Annapurna, they are the first to climb an 8,000-metre peak this season. “Successful summit on Annapurna sends a positive vibe to the world climbers who are attempting to climb other mountains as the mountaineering sector faced back-to-back disasters in the last two years,” Gyanendra Shrestha said.

The first to reach the summit of Annapurna this year was Bulgarian zoologist and climber Boyan Petrov Petrov. Shortly after, Christine Patricia Burke from Austria and Chinese climber and Luo Jing joined him. Japanese mountaineer Nobukazu Kuriki is heading to Annapurna’s southwest face in a solo attempt.

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