Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Viesturs bags peak, bags sport

Associated Press

KATMANDU, Nepal – One of the United States’ most accomplished climbers has come down from the death zone.

After Ed Viesturs recently became the 12th person and the first American to climb the world’s tallest 14 peaks – all above 26,240 feet – the 45-year-old said he is retiring from high-altitude climbing.

Viesturs summitted Nepal’s 26,540-foot Mount Annapurna on May 12, his final goal in the 16-year odyssey that has taken him to the world’s most spectacular heights.

“It is a dream come true for me. I have thought about this for so long,” Viesturs told The Associated Press in Katmandu after returning safely from the mountain.

He began his long journey in 1989 by climbing Mount Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-tallest mountain at 28,200-feet.

He’s climbed the world’s tallest mountain – the 29,035-foot Mount Everest – six times. The first person to scale all 14 peaks was Italian Reinhold Messner in 1986.