KATHMANDU: A 59-year-old climber from Russia has left for the Everest region to attempt to scale the world's highest peak without supplemental oxygen this season.
According to Thaneswar Guragai, General Manager at Seven Summit Treks, Valeriy Babanov is now in the Khumbu region as he intends to set a world record becoming the oldest athlete in history that will climb the highest eight-thousander on the planet without using supplemental oxygen.
Valeriy is an international master of sports, two-time Piolet d'Or winner and multiple-winner of mountaineering's championships in Russia. He climbed six eight-thousand metre peaks (five of them without supplemental oxygen).
The climber said that he is actively preparing for the ascent. "My plan includes three preliminary so-called rotational high-altitude camps: to 6500 meters, then - an overnight stay at 7400 meters and an overnight ascent to the South Col, at 8000 meters. Then there will be a descent to the Base Camp, rest and the main ascent," Valeriy added.
Estimated date for climbing Everest is early-mid May 2024. So far, the oldest person to achieve the feat (without O2) is 55 years old.
Valeriy has started special preparatory training for this project about a year ago: it included increasing the body's functional abilities, a special diet, almost daily cyclic training, training in the gym, including strength training, climbing, etc.
Valeriy's sports career includes many ascents and first ascents. Especially iconic ones are: first-ascent of Mt. Nuptse East (7804m) in a pair with Yuri Koshelenko along the South face in 2003 and a new route in Alpine style climbing of Mt. Jannu (7710m) with Sergei Kofanov in 2007.
According to the climbing records, Valeriy Babanov has summited the Pamir and Tien Shan mountains eight times, conquering peaks over seven thousand meters in height. Additionally, he has achieved two "camp-to-camp" ascents in a single day, reaching both Peak Korzhenevskaya (7,103 m) and Peak Lenin (7,134 m).
Notably, he has successfully climbed Broad Peak (8,047 m) and Gasherbrum-1 (8,068 m) via new routes employing the challenging alpine style. Also, Valeriy has impressively completed approximately 45 long routes of the utmost difficulty across the Pamir and Tien Shan mountains, as well as in international locations such as the Alps, Yosemite, Alaska, and the Himalayas. Valeriy confidently accomplished these endeavors both in the challenging conditions of summer and winter, and what's even more noteworthy is that he undertook these journeys alone.
Moreover, the professional conquered some of these routes for the very first time as a pioneer. In 2002, Valeriy achieved a significant milestone by graduating from the renowned French mountain guide school ENSA in Chamonix. This accomplishment granted him an International Diploma of a Professional Mountain Guide (an IFMGA-certified mountain guide), further validating his expertise and qualifications in the field.
