Ed Viesturs' Quest for the 8,000 meter peaks

Interview Segments:
[Annapurna] [Shishapangma] [Filming Vertical Limit] [Slideshow]

On climbing Shishapangma's central summit and Broad Peak
Ed Viesturs' record of 8,000-meter peaks is unsurpassed by any other American. And while his climb to Shishapangma's central summit, a few meters lower than the true summit, has caused controversey in some circles and while he leaves open the possibility of someday returning to Shishapangma for an attempt on the true summit, Viesturs emphasizes that the climbing he does is for his own personal rewards and not for somebody else's idea of what constitutes a climb.

	STREAMING VIDEO Shishapangma
	[TRANSCRIPT]
	REALPLAYER (28k) (56k) (100k)
	WINDOWS MEDIA (28k) (56k) (100k)

"There is going to be some rumblings, or whatever, regarding Shishapangma and Broad Peak," he said. "Some people know about this and some people don't, but I've never tried to hide anything. In 1993, when I climbed Shisapangma from the high camp to the summit, I climbed on my own. The snow conditions were marginal and I reached what is called the Central Summit, which is what most people climb when they go to Shishapagma — and it's above 8000 meters.

The "true summit" is somewhat farther away, along a very sharp ridge. When I got to the central summit, I assessed the snow conditions, and I actually kicked off an avalanche as I was climbing up. I thought the risks were too great for me continue even though I wanted to. It was 10 in the morning or whatever, so I felt I had the time and energy to get to the main summit, but I did not. So, some people would say that I did climb Shishapangma and others would say that I did not. So that's the story on Shishapangma.

"For Broad Peak, I climbed that in 1997, when Veikka and I climbed within 50 yards or so of the summit. You climb along this summit ridge, after you get to the Col between Broad Peak's main and central peaks, then you have still about four hours to go along the summit ridge. Veikka and I followed this undulating summit ridge, really beautiful climbing.

"We were stopped just short of the summit by a relatively easy traverse, but the snow conditions on the traverse were very hazardous. We sat there for a while trying to figure out someway to get across this slope — and there was the summit, about 50 yards away from us. We decided that that risk was too great, so we didn't actually get to the very top, although it was within our grasp. We admitted that when we came down — remember, we could have not said anything — but we said, 'Hey this is what happened, we feel comfortable with that.' If people want to say, 'well you didn't really climb Broad Peak,' I'm fine with them saying that. I feel we literally got to the top, although it wasn't the summit. And so if people want to tell you that I didn't, that's up to them.

"And as far as I am concerned, I never wanted to do these climbs and to complete this goal to get into somebody's record book or to have any sort of notoriety surrounding it. My main reasons have always been personal and I'm pretty happy with how I've done these climbs. I've enjoyed them all and again it's always been a personal goal — never to please anybody or to follow anybody else's rules. I've always thought the style I've done these with has been good and as of late we've been doing them very light, very efficiently, very fast, very clean. And for me it is just this exhilaration that I get when I go climbing and if people want to criticize what I do, I'm totally content with that. It doesn't bother me in the least."

—Peter Potterfield, MountainZone.com Staff