Carlos Soria and the BBVA Expedition returned to Madrid today “We will return to the Himalayas in spring”
After a month and a half away from Spain, Carlos Soria landed at 1:55 pm today on a flight from Qatar, “eager to return to the Himalayas and give a try to one of the eight-thousanders still left”. Optimistic and healthy-looking, Carlos Soria said that his next challenge will come in spring.
- (1888PressRelease) October 17, 2012 - “We will try the Annapurna (8,091 meters) or the Kanchenjunga (8,586 meters), two of the four eight-thousanders which –together with the Dhaulagiri and the main summit of the Shisha Pangma- remain to be conquered to achieve my challenge of reaching the summit of the 14 highest mountains on Earth”, said the mountaineer on his arrival at Madrid-Barajas airport.
Carlos Soria's first words were to thank all the members of the BBVA Expedition, particularly his team-mate Sito Carcavilla and the sherpa Muktu, with whom the septuagenarian mountaineer managed to reach Camp 3 of the Dhaulagiri. “I also want to thank BBVA for its unconditional support throughout the expedition. I feel very lucky and well-liked, thanks especially to the media and also on the social networks”.
The Communication and Brand director of BBVA, Gregorio Panadero, said that “BBVA absolutely shares the values of caution, perseverance, firmness and responsibility that characterize the career of Carlos Soria, a BBVA ambassador, who has once again proved that at the age of 73 he is still in the elite of world-class mountaineering, but at the same time has not lost his cautious style on the mountain".
600 meters away from the summit
The BBVA Expedition led by Carlos Soria has returned to Spain after giving up when only 600 meters remained to reach the summit. “The harsh conditions on the mountain when we had reached Camp 3 at a height of 7,600 meters forced us to descend when we were just one day away from the summit. There is no doubt that trying to make it to the top would have been madness”, said Carlos Soria.
Supported by his family, friends and the media, Carlos Soria believes that given the circumstances and the conditions on the mountain, reaching Camp 3 was a complete success. “We knew that weather conditions would determine our schedule and our chances of reaching the summit, and that was the case. Physically we were very well, and the important thing is that we made it back, the mountain is not going to move and we will be back to try again, I'm satisfied with what we achieved. This is my fifth attempt to climb up the Dhaula and my way of understanding the mountain does not include taking this type of risks, neither me nor my team-mates”, he concluded.
Headed by the septuagenarian mountaineer, the "BBVA-Carlos Soria Dhaulagiri Expedition 2012" was composed of another five members: Sito Carcavilla, a climber and geologist from the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain; Muktu Sherpa, who has acted as "Sirdar" or head of the sherpas and porters for Carlos Soria for many years; Carlos Martínez, a Seville-born doctor who was responsible for the physical condition and health of the expedition members; Dani Salas and Luis Soriano, experienced mountaineers charged with the video recordings; and Nacho Tena, a journalist and the communications link with the outside world.
Carlos Soria is the only climber in history to have scaled nine mountains over 8,000 meters after the age of 60, and he continues to pursue his goal of becoming the oldest climber to scale all 14 eight-thousanders. Still left on his list are the Kachenjunga, the Dhaulagiri, the main peak of the Shisha Pangma and the Annapurna, which eluded him on his last expedition in spring owing to the arduous conditions on the mountain, and especially the avalanches which forced the veteran climber to abandon his attempt.
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