Simone Moro

Two 8,000-meter peaks:
From the summit of Everest to the summit of Lhotse
Three mountains make up the great trilogy of Himalayan giants at Everest: Everest itself, Lhotse, and Nuptse. Italian climber Simone Moro, former climbing partner to noted Russian climber Anatoli Boukreev, will attempt one of the most challenging of all mountaineering endeavors this year: the enchainment of Mount Everest and Lhotse. An enchainment entails summitting two or more mountains back-to-back without returning to a base camp. This spring Moro will climb Everest without oxygen, solo, and then going directly to the summit of Lhotse via the never-before-climbed Northeast Ridge.

Moro became only the second person in history to climb four of the 7,000-meter peaks in the Tien Shen of Kyrgyzstan in a single outing in 1999 — the first was Boukreev. Moro will make his bold attempt without supplemental oxygen, doing Everest solo and Lhotse in the company of cameraman Denis Urubko.

Moro, who was climbing with Boukreev when they were caught in an avalanche during a rare winter attempt on Annapurna in 1997, already has twice been to the summit of Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain on the planet.

Moro will make frequent voice and email dispatches to MountainZone.com, and will send digital images of his climb to MountainZone.com to the extent that he is able to do so.