An Awesome Himalayan Climbing Feat, Obscured by the Olympics
By Steve Casimiro on November 5th, 2012
Brits Sandy Allan and his climbing partner Rick Allen are 57 and 59, respectively. And back in July, with Olympic fever in full pitch, they achieved what is arguably one of the most audacious feats in climbing in a few decades — and not many people took much notice. The pair, without food or water for three days, took on the summit of 26,660-foot Nanga Parbat via the Mazeno Ridge, the largest in the Himalayas, all of it above 6,000 meters. They were on that ridge for two weeks, which itself requires vast technical skill to skirt up and down and up again. And only at the bitter end did they finally achieve what no climbers have ever done. Even with the most optimistic assumptions — planning for eight days’ food and fuel they calculated might last 10 — the climb would take 18 days with seven different camp and bivouac sites. Mark Synnott wrote in Climbing that the route’s inordinate length made it about as bold as any in the alpine world and that once they reached a certain point they simply couldn’t turn back. Via The Guardian.
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Tags: Climbing