Juan Oiarzabal has quit his climb on Yalung Kang due to problems with his feet and just announced oficially in Spain "the end of 8000 ascents..."
Joao Garcia is back on Kang in camp 1, preparing to the final summit push with Andrew Lock tomorrow, after rescuing team mate Antonio Coelho. Image of both climbers enroute to C1, courtesy of Aurelio Faria.
LINKS
|
Kangchenjunga - Lock/Garcia update; Juanito Oiarzabal; "It's over - the end of my 8000 ascents"
Posted: May 01, 2006 12:59 pm EDT
Aurelio Faria, a Portuguese journalist, who spent 3 weeks with the International Kangchenjunga Expedition just reported to ExplorersWeb that the Portuguese climber Antonio Coelho who was evacuated from C1 on Kang with apendicite is back in Portugal after surgery in Kathmandu: Joao Garcia, who led the rescue, is back on Kang in camp 1, preparing to the final summit push with Andrew Lock. Faria also reports that Juan Oiarzabal has quit his climb due to problems with his feet and just announced oficially in Spain "the end of 8000 ascents..."
Spaniard Juan Oiarzabal, who currently holds the record for the most 8000+ meter summits (21 to be exact) suffered terrible frostbite to his toes on a descent from K2's summit in 2004. Back home Juan had virtually all his toes amputated. The wounds wouldn’t heal well, and Juan's restless temper didn’t help much either. For two years, he fought depression, until he set a new goal this year: Yalung Kang, the dangerous Western point of Kangchenjunga.
Unfortunately however, Juanito now has had to give in to his wounds.
Sharing a permit with Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Ralf Dujmovits, but climbing independently, Australian Andrew Lock is teaming up with Portuguese climbers João García to climb Kang from its south side. Garcia is trying to be 1st Portuguese climber for all the 14, 8000 ers, Kang is his 8th.
|
