Alex Txikon and Ali Sadpara have embarked on an expedition to attempt to be the first foreign climbers to summit Everest in winter without supplementary oxygen.
The 36-year-old, world-renowned Spanish climber Alex Txikon has arrived in Nepal and is about to leave for the Khumbu Region. He has met up with fellow mountaineer Ali Sadpara from Pakistan and the two man team will be joined by nine Sherpas.
The only climbing permit for Mt Everest this winter has been obtained by Alex’s two-member expedition. DoT official Tilak Ram Pandey said; “The team attended a briefing at the DoT today to begin climbing activities in the Mt Everest region”.
Last year Txikon and Sadpara along with Italian alpinist Simone Moro made the historic first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat. Txikon has already summited 11 mountains over 8,000m and this will be his seventh winter expedition without supplemental oxygen.
He said; “If everything goes according to the plan, the team will make their final summit pushes on Mt Everest by third week of February”. They also intend to climb Mt Pumori (7,161 m) in January before making a summit attempt on Everest.
Nepali mountaineer Ang Rita Sherpa is currently the only person in the world to have climbed to the top of the world’s highest peak in winter without supplementary O2 in 1987.
You can follow the team’s progress at http://alextxikon.com and via Facebook.