Ed Viesturs

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Ed Viesturs

Edmund "Ed" Viesturs (born June 22, 1959 ) is an American high altitude climber . He is the first US citizen and the twelfth mountaineer ever to climb all 14 eight-thousanders , as well as the fifth to do so without additional oxygen .

Viesturs has climbed Mount Everest seven times.

Childhood and youth

He was born to Latvian parents and grew up in Rockford , Illinois . Viesturs moved to Seattle , Washington to attend the university there. There he began his mountaineering career on the slopes of Mount Rainier . Viesturs graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology and became a mountain guide for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. He later received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Washington State University .

Mountaineering career

His interest in the Himalayas developed in high school by reading Maurice Herzog's account of the first ascent of Annapurna . After climbing the Kanchenjunga in 1989, Mount Everest in 1990 and the K2 in 1992, Viesturs became an internationally active mountain guide and was sponsored as a professional mountaineer . He also served as a guide for Rob Hall's expedition company Adventure Consultants during the 1995 Everest expedition.

Viesturs was on the IMAX team during the 1996 Everest disaster . Viesturs was the star of the Everest IMAX film. Filming was hindered by the Blizzard weather disaster. The IMAX team postponed its recordings and played a key role in rescuing the mountaineers affected by the disaster in the high regions. The IMAX team later went to the summit with the camera equipment on May 23, 1996.

He was also seen in a guest role in the mountaineering drama Vertical Limit , published in 2000, where he played himself.

Viesturs continued mountaineering on Broad Peak and Nanga Parbat in 2003 and on Mount Everest (seventh ascent in 2009). He leads expeditions for the New Zealand expedition company Adventure Consultants , founded by Rob Hall , who died on Everest in the 96 disaster .

He lives on Bainbridge Island , Washington, just across from Seattle on Puget Sound .

Viesturs climbs with his partner Veikka Gustafsson . He was awarded the David A. Sowles Memorial Prize of the American Alpine Club .

In October 2006, Viesturs gave his book No Shortcuts to the Top out (German about: No shortcuts to the top ), an autobiography that documented his trips to all eight thousand.

On November 5, 2006, he ran his first marathon , the New York City Marathon, in 3 hours 15 minutes and 18 seconds.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ed Viesturs: From Lander Hall to Annapurna . Autumn 2005. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved on December 23, 2010.
  2. ↑ Ed Viesturs in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  3. ^ Ed Viesturs: No Shortcuts to the Top . Broadway Books, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7679-2471-9 .
personal data
SURNAME Viesturs, Ed
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Viesturs, Edmund (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American climber
DATE OF BIRTH June 22, 1959