First Solo Summit of Everest

First Solo Summit of Everest (Didn't include supplemental oxygen: WOW!)

The first man to do it, Reinhold Messner (Pictured here), had been climbing for most of his life. His first summit was on the Dolomites: A group of 10,000 ft. tall mountains in northeastern Italy, which he climbed with his father when he was only five years old.

This climbing gear, unlike Reinhold's, has an oxygen tank to help with breathing above 26,000 ft. (The Death Zone). Some people however, do not need or want to use supplemental oxygen. One of these people was Reinhold.

Contrary to popular belief at the time, it was possible to climb the mountain without the use of supplemental oxygen. In 1978, he and his friend became the first to climb the mountain without supplemental oxygen, thus disproving the theory that there wasn't enough oxygen to breathe at an altitude above 26,000 ft.

Finally, in 1980, he summited the mountain by himself. The first person to ever do so. This on it's own is impressive, but it is easily topped by the fact that he did it without supplemental oxygen. If he had made but one error, it could have cost him his life since no one was there to help him. "I was alone up there, completely alone. I fell down a crevasse at night and almost gave up. Only because I had this fantasy - because for two years I had been pregnant with this fantasy of soloing Everest - was I able to continue."

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by PublicDomainPictures - "mountain himalaya nepal" • rottonara - "reinhold messner reinhold messner" • AGeekMom - "Scott Parazinski Everest Summit Gear" • MichaelGaida - "gas gas bottle propane" • nordique - "REINHOLD MESSNER, coming to Seattle"

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First Solo Summit of Everest (Didn't include supplemental oxygen: WOW!)

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