84-year-old Carlos Soria leaves for Lukla to prepare for 15th Dhaulagiri attempt

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KATHMANDU, MARCH 26

Veteran Spanish mountaineer Carlos Soria today left for the Khumbu region to prepare himself for his 15th attempt on Mt Dhaulagiri.

According to Mingma Sherpa, Chairman of Seven Summit Treks, the 84-year-old climber flew for Lukla and he will trek to the Everest base camp for a couple of weeks. "Everest trekking is a part of acclimatization as Carlos will make his 15th attempt on Mt Dhaulagiri next month," Sherpa said.

Carlos, who had done his first eight-thousander - Nanga Parbat - at the age of 50, is the only mountaineer to have successfully climbed ten mountains above 8,000 meters after turning 60.

Carlos had already made 14 attempts on the world's sixth-highest peak but he couldn't make it to the top of the summit.

"If Carlos makes it to the top of Mt Dhaulagiri this season, he will have to climb Shishapangma to be the oldest man ever to complete all 14 peaks above 8,000 m," Chhang Dawa Sherpa, Expedition Director at SST, said. Carlos also claimed that he had, however, reached the central summit at 8,008 m of Mt Shishapangma (8,027 m) in 2005.

Carlos Soria and team

According to him, a nine-member team including six Sherpa climbers and a base camp manager will leave for Dhaulagiri in mid-April once they completed the acclimation rotation in the Everest region.

This season too, Mikel Sherpa will be the lead guide with Carlos on Mt Dhaulagiri, said Chhang Dawa Sherpa.

Carlos, who had undergone surgery on his left knee in 2018, would be attempting to climb Mt Dhaulagiri with the knee prosthesis, Sherpa added.

CARLOS SORIA'S SUMMIT SUCCESS:

Nanga Parbat - 1990

Gasherbrum II - 1994

Cho Oyu - 1999

Everest - 2001

K2 - 2004

Broad Peak - 2007

Makalu - 2008

Gasherbrum I - 2009

Manaslu - 2010