Ed Viesturs' Quest for the 8,000 meter peaks

Follow along on MountainZone.com this spring as Ed Viesturs and long-time climbing partner Veikka Gustafsson make an attempt to climb the Dutch Rib route on the north flank of Annapurna in Nepal.

	Ed Viesturs

At 8,091 meters (26,545 feet), Annapurna is not just the tenth highest mountain on earth, it's the mountain that initially drew Viesturs to the mountains. As a teenager, Viesturs read Maurice Herzog's acclaimed book Annapurna. The gripping account of the 1950 French expedition inspired Viesturs to start climbing himself.

Now, in the year 2000, after having reached the summit of 12 of the world's highest peaks, Viesturs will journey to Annapurna (click for map of the approach: 86k) for an attempt to gain his 13th 8,000 meter summit.

— Peter Potterfield, MountainZone.com Staff