Climbing

It started as a seemingly impossible challenge that only became more daunting along the way. Four coworkers from CIB, hanging from one of the most mythical mountains for climbers in Spain, exhausted and nearly frozen. Three of them had never climbed before. The easiest way out was to turn around, but they didn’t quit.

Climber Carlos Soria, leader of the BBVA Expedition, is already at the Annapurna Base Camp. The team spent the past two weeks trekking to acclimatize, getting ready to take on Earth’s tenth highest peak in the best possible conditions. “The preparatory process we’ve completed in the past days will be key to our attempt to summit the Annapurna as quickly as possible. We’re ready to seize the first chance we have,” said Carlos Soria.

Did you know that the oxygen level at 8,000 meters of altitude is one third the amount of oxygen available at sea level? When the goal is to reach 8,000 meters it is important to be aware that only Mother Nature exists up there. However, the body can go through acclimatization, which is an adaptation process to survive in the conditions of the new environment.

Carlos Soria will set off next February 25 for Nepal with the new BBVA Expedition to tackle the Annapurna (8,091 m) and the Dhaulagiri (8,167 m). The veteran climber is optimistic about this challenge: “These two mountains are quite difficult, particularly the Annapurna, but, as always, we'll try it with much enthusiasm and this year we'll succeed”. If he does, he would become the oldest person to achieve it and would be one step away from completing the 14 eight-thousanders, pending the main summit of the Shisha Pangma.

Discovery Max will premiere the ‘Ice Cream Maker of the Himalaya’. The two stars of the documentary host the official media presentation. Carlos Soria and Jordi Roca meet again after sharing a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the Himalayas.

Carlos Soria usually treks across the Khumbu Valley to acclimate to local conditions before taking on a challenge in the Himalayas. The route he follows offers one of the best views of what became, in 2001, the fourth eight-thousander he climbed in his climbing career: Mt. Everest.

A tibia and fibula fracture almost forced him to give up his great passion. His eight-thousander challenge was still to come, but Carlos Soria already lived by and for the mountain. But courage, perseverance and drive have always been defining traits of his personality and one year later he was taking off to climb North America’s highest peak.

Some sports we practice alone, some we do as part of a group. But, in this case, it is not how, but the reason why we practice a sport that matters.  Carlos Soria often talks about how he met his wife on a mountain. Also, he always wanted his daughters to feel at home in nature, in a setting that brought so much joy to his life. This is a reason why: Understanding this popular mountaineer's fascination for climbing, for difficult challenges, for what, ultimately, is an essential part of his life.

Carlos Soria has earned his spot in the history of mountaineering for many reasons. This article focuses on some of this truly great sportsman’s greatest achievements and a few oddities.

In many cultures 7 is a lucky number. Seven are the days of the week and the seas in the planet. According to the Bible, it took God seven days to create Earth and in Hinduism, there are seven chakras or energy centers in our body. A cat has seven lives; there are seven wonders in the world, seven capital sins, seven colors in the rainbow, seven musical notes and even Snow White befriended seven dwarves.

Only a very special breed of people can make it to the top of the world’s tallest mountains. They are the ones chosen to touch the sky, to see the world at their feet, to reach peaks that stand over 8,000 meters tall, where visibility changes and where views can be as spectacular as scarce is the air for breathing. Carlos Soria is one of these heroes and, in many aspects, a unique one.

It took him three years to set foot on the summit of yet another one of the tallest mountains on Earth. After Mount Lhotse in 2011, Carlos Soria reached the top of the Kanchenjunga (8586m) in May 18th, 2014. One year after, we’re celebrating with the 76 year old mountaineer what became his eleventh eight-thousander.

Everything is different up there. As you come closer you notice the change, and not just because altitude sickness starts taking its toll on your body or you have to sleep in a tent. But also because it means standing at the gates of heaven, in the Himalayas. All mountains hold many secrets and require anyone venturing into them to be fully aware of them.

Annapurna’s summit (8,091 m) will have to wait. The Nepalese colossus was unforgiving with BBVA’s Expedition and after a 50-day stay at the Base Camp the chances of reaching the top had dropped to a point of no return. “The amount of snowfall this year has been incredible” We brought seven tents for the high-altitude camps and we’re only taking three back. We lost some tents and tons of material to avalanches”, said the veteran mountaineer, whose decisions during these weeks have always prioritized expedition member safety.

Carlos Soria once again made history by becoming the oldest person to reach the summit of the third highest mountain on the planet. The BBVA Expedition managed to reach the Kanchenjunga peak (8,586 meters) this morning at 9:05 a.m. (5:20 a.m. Spanish time). The team, tired but in good condition, have contacted Base Camp. "This is everyone's summit," the mountain climber from Ávila said. The BBVA Expedition is now resting, back at Camp III (7,550 meters).