11/04/2022
Age is just a number. Carlos Soria Fontán was born at Avila, Spain on 5th February, 1939. He is an alpinist who, at 83 years of age, has taken up the challenge of becoming the oldest person in the world to reach the summits of the 14 highest mountains in the world. Till date, he has successfully scaled 12 8000ers. During his earlier attempts, he had failed to reach the summit of his 13th 8000er, Mt. Dhaulagir. Carlos is once again on this mountain this Spring. Wishing him successful summit and safe return.
He is the only mountaineer to have ascended 12 mountains of more than 8,000 meters after turning 60, and he is the oldest person in history to have successfully climbed the K2 (65 years old), Broad Peak (68), Makalu (69), Gasherbrum I (70), Manaslu (71 years old), Kanchenjunga (75 years old) and Annapurna (77 years old).
Carlos Soria first became interested in mountaineering when, at the age of only 14, he set out to ascend the Sierra de Guadarrama (province of Madrid, Spain), accompanied by a friend, Antonio Riaño. That was the first of many climbs until at the age of 21 he moved up to a different category altogether: accompanied by another friend, in 1960 he rode a Vespa all the way to the Alps for his first high-difficult climbings.
In 1968, he was on the first Spanish expedition to Russia to climb Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe (5,642 meters), and in 1971 he went on an expedition to Alaska's Denali, at 6,194 meters the highest mountain peak in North America.
Ever since, Soria has been inextricably linked to the history of Spanish mountain climbing. In 1973 and 1975 he took part in the first Spanish expeditions to the Himalayas, witnessing Spain's first successful ascent of an eight-thousander, by Jerónimo López and Gerardo Blázquez.
It was not until 1990, however, that he achieved his first 'eight-thousander' (Nanga Parbat), 17 years after his first attempt. As it turns out, in 2010 he first climbed Mount Manaslu, 37 years after his first attempt, which attests to his tenacity and determination to succeed.
Carlos Soria has undertaken most of his expeditions practically solo, assisted only by some sherpas and porters, in particular, Muktu Sherpa, who has accompanied him on six expeditions and four 8,000-meter ascents (K-2, Sh**ha Pagma, Manaslu and Lhotse).
However, since July 2011, Soria has been supported by the Spanish bank BBVA, allowing him to face the last of his planned 14 eight-thousanders' with greater guarantees and resources. Carlos Soria has become a leading sports figure because of his achievement of extraordinary feats at an age when most persons of his generation are spectators.
His 2004 ascent of the K2 (8,611 meters) at the age of 65—by comparison, the Austrian Kurt Diemberger accomplished this at the age of 54—and his 2008 solo ascent without oxygen of the Makalu (8,463 meters), have revolutionized mountaineering.
Carlos Soria's great contribution is that he has given a practical example of how even seniors can have full lives, both physically and mentally, which is an important inspiration for thousands of persons of all ages who regularly follow his expeditions. Despite the passage of time and the changes in top-tier mountain climbing, Carlos Soria continues to eschew competitive mountaineering events. Soria is a frequent speaker at numerous forums and congresses, where he advocates enjoying nature and spreads his message of the importance of prudence and intelligently facing risks. His local roots and personal simplicity add a human side to his adventures, further boosting his popularity in Spain. No other person in the world of his age is involved in a project to climb all 14 eight-thousanders' on Earth. The mere fact that he is attempting this feat is putting elite mountaineering in the spotlight, not only from the standpoint of sports but also from the standpoint of science, given Soria's decades of cooperation with the Department of Sports Medicine of Spain's National Institute of Physical Education.
On the date of posting this (15-09-19), Carlos is attempting to reach the summit of Dhaulagiri, his 13th 8000er, thus, leaving Sh**hapangma to be added as a feather in cap (if he succeeds to summit Dhaulagiri).
All his 8000ers -
Nanga Parbat (8.125 m.), Pakistán, 1990
Gasherbrum II (8.035 m.), Pakistan, 1994
Cho Oyu (8.201 m.), China 1999
Everest (8.848 m.), Nepal, 2001
K2 (8.611 m.), Pakistan, 2004
Broad Peak (8.047 m.), Pakistan, 2007
Makalu (8.465 m.), Nepal, 2008
Gasherbrum I (8.068 m.), Pakistan, 2009
Manaslu (8.156 m.), Nepal, 2010
Lhotse (8.516 m.), Nepal, 2011
Kanchenjunga (8.586 m.), Nepal, 2014
Annapurna (8.091 m.), Nepal, 2016
Dhaulagiri - 2017 (Unsuccessful)
Dhaulagiri - 2018 (Unsuccessful) - underwent knee surgery
Dhaulagiri - 2019 (The attempt was abandoned due to inclement weather on the mountain)