Carlos Soria shifts his objective and will now attempt to scale the mountain of Dhaulagiri after the closure of the border with Tibet
In addition to the Dhaulagiri and the main peak of the Shishapangma, it still remains for Carlos Soria to climb the Annapurna and the Kangchenjunga to become the oldest mountaineer to stand atop the 14 highest mountains on the Earth. However, the climber has ruled out these last two for the coming fall, due to the major difficulties involved in climbing them at this time of the year.
- (1888PressRelease) August 29, 2012 - “We had no alternative but to switch destinations, as we had everything all set to go to Shishapangma”, declared Carlos Soria. “The Kangchenjunga and the Annapurna are almost impossible to climb outside the spring season, so we ruled them out pretty early on. We were left with only Dhaulagiri or having to cancel the BBVA expedition, but at my age, I feel I'm in no position to pass up any opportunities”.
Carlos Soria explained that “not being able to go to the Shishapangma is a drawback that makes things considerably more complicated, as Dhaulagiri in the fall is a very difficult mountain, as we found out a year ago. Still, we're determined to do everything possible to satisfy all our followers.”
“Our plans involve starting the approach in the week of 3 September, reaching base camp, getting acclimatized and making our attempt for the summit as early as possible, provided the conditions are right. I'm raring to go, I feel great physically, and I'm mentally prepared. As soon as the mountain gives us the chance, I hope to be able to make the most of it”, said the climber.
The Shishapangma is the only one of the 14 "eight-thousanders" which is entirely inside Tíbet, where the current political and social instability means its borders are kept closed by order of the Chinese government. This means an ascent is impossible in what remains of 2012. In addition to the BBVA-Carlos Soria expedition, other international teams have also been obliged to change the destination of their expeditions.
The "BBVA-Carlos Soria Dhaulagiri expedition 2012"
The BBVA-Carlos Soria Dhaulagiri expedition 2012 will set out for Katmandú, the capital of Nepal, next Sunday 2 September from Barajas airport's T4 terminal, and will travel via Doha (Qatar). During the journey Carlos Soria will be accompanied by practically all the team that supported him on his previous expedition last spring on his bid to climb the Annapurna, also in the Himalayas. Headed by the septuagenarian climber, the "BBVA-Carlos Soria Dhaulagiri expedition 2012" includes Sito Carcavilla, a geologist and climber and a friend of Carlos, who he has accompanied on four expeditions; 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 will be responsible for the physical condition and health of the expedition members; Dani Salas and Luis López Soriano, experienced mountaineers charged with the video recordings, and Nacho Tena, a journalist and the communications link with the outside world.
Accompanying them will be two BBVA employees, chosen by means of a draw between all the participants in a competition organized by the bank, for which the bank's more than 111,000 employees all around the world were eligible.
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 Shishapangma 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 obliged the veteran climber to abandon his attempt.
The "BBVA-Carlos Soria Dhaulagiri expedition 2012" will provide all the media with daily updates, images and videos to follow this expedition, practically in real time. Moreover, the materials produced and sent from Dhaulagiri will be posted on Carlos Soria's social network channels.
Social network phenomenon
At the age of 73, Carlos Soria has become a symbol that is attracting a great deal of attention, particularly on social networks. To all his records for being the person who has climbed most eight-thousanders after the age of 60, he can also add the distinction of being the climber with the greatest number of fans –Carlos likes to call them friends- on Facebook.
His official Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/yosuboconcarlossoria, already has over 233,000 friends, and the number is still growing. Carlos Soria's popularity on the social networks is also echoed by his success on Youtube, with over 890,000 reproductions of videos on his channel , and over 3,500 followers on his Twitter account,
Contact details:
Corporate Communications
Tel. +34 91 374 39 80
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