With high winds still buffeting the Himalaya I fully expected today to be a day where there wouldn’t be much news to report. Sadly, that isn’t the case and while there is some good information to share, there is also more tragic news to report as well.
Yesterday, Peru’s most prolific and famous climber Richard Hidalgo was found dead in his tent in Camp 2 at 6600 meters (21,635 ft) on Makalu. The climber had been helping the rope fixing teams on Tuesday and appeared to be in good health and spirits. In fact, he was getting ready to make a summit push on the mountain over the next few days without the use of supplemental oxygen. Hidalgo was discovered by Sherpas working with Seven Summit Treks as they were preparing to head higher. He was 52 years old.
Hidalgo’s goal was to climb all of the 8000-meter peaks without the use of bottled Os. He had already knocked off Cho Oyu, Manaslu, Annapurna, Shishapangma, Gasherbrum II, and Broad Peak. He had also attempted Everest on five separate occasions, but hadn’t quite added that to his list yet. His ambitious plans included getting the other eight mountains before 2021 when Peru celebrates the 200th anniversary of its independence.
As is always the case with these kinds of stories, our thoughts are with his friends and family in these trying times.
Filed under: Adventure Travel, Climbers, Everest, Expedition, Himalayas, Kraig Becker, Nepal | Tagged: Ama Dablam, Annapurna, Broad Peak, Cho Oyu, Climbers, Everest Region, Expedition, Explorers Web, Gasherbrum II, Katmandu, Manaslu, Namche Bazaar, Nepal, Olga Dobranowski, Shishapangma, Travel | Leave a comment »