Ed Viesturs

Ed Viesturs (born June 22, 1959) is one of the world's premier high-altitude mountaineers. He is the first American, and 12th person overall, to summit all fourteen mountains over 8000 meters (collectively known as the eight-thousanders), and the sixth climber to do it without bottled oxygen. Viesturs also has summitted Mount Everest six times, a feat that, excluding Sherpas, has only been surpassed by Pete Athans (7), Gheorghe Dijmarescu (8), and Dave Hahn (10). [Hill, Craig. [http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/story/5764888p-5155330c.html "Glory, death share stage on Everest"] . The News Tribune. May 25, 2006] [ [http://www.mountainguides.com/hahn.shtml Dave Hahn International Mountain Guides ] ]

Early life

Born of Latvian descent and raised in Rockford, Illinois, Viesturs moved to Seattle, Washington in 1977 to attend the University of Washington. It was here that he began his mountaineering career on the slopes of Mount Rainier. Viesturs graduated from the University of Washington in 1981 with a BS in zoologycite web | title=Ed Viesturs: From Lander Hall to Annapurna|url=http://www.artsci.washington.edu/news/Autumn05/Viesturs.htm| date=Autumn 2005] , and eventually became a guide for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. He later obtained a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Washington State University.

Mountain climbing career

His interest in the Himalaya was sparked in high school by reading Maurice Herzog's account of the first climb of Annapurna. After climbing Kanchenjunga in 1989, Mount Everest in 1990, and K2 in 1992, Viesturs became an international mountain guide and was sponsored for full-time mountaineering. He also served as a guide for Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants company during the 1995 Everest expedition.

Viesturs was in the IMAX team during the 1996 Everest Disaster. Viesturs was the star of the "Everest" IMAX movie. Filming was delayed as the blizzard struck. The IMAX team postponed shooting to aid the stranded climbers. The IMAX team later summitted Everest on May 23, 1996.

He has continued climbing in the Himalaya, with his most recent climbs being Broad Peak and Nanga Parbat in 2003 and Mount Everest (sixth time) in 2004. He guides expeditions for New Zealand-based Adventure Consultants and currently resides in Bainbridge Island, Washington, just across Puget Sound from Seattle, Washington.cite web
title = Ed Viesturs
url = http://www.edviesturs.com/news/
accessdate = 2006-12-12 ]

Viesturs climbs with partner Veikka Gustafsson and is a recipient of the David A. Sowles Memorial Award from the American Alpine Club.

In October 2006, Viesturs released "No Shortcuts to the Top", an autobiography that documented his summitting of all fourteen eight-thousanders.

On November 5, 2006, Viesturs completed his first marathon, the 2006 ING New York City Marathon in 3:15:18.

Appearances

He made a cameo appearance in the film "Vertical Limit".

He was a guest on the "Daily Show" on December 7, 2006, and appeared on "The Colbert Report" on March 14, 2007.

References

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External links

* [http://www.edviesturs.com/ Ed Viesturs homepage]
* [http://www.adventure.co.nz/ Adventure Consultants]
* [http://www.greatoutdoors.com/viesturs/ Greatoutdoors.com]