Carlos Soria of Spain was one of hundreds to summit Manaslu this week, but his summit this morning was special. At 86 years old, he has become the oldest person ever to summit an 8,000m peak.
Soria climbed with long-time friend and photographer Luis Miguel Soriano, and was supported by Mikel Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, and Phurba Sherpa.
The group left Camp 3 yesterday and reached the top today at 5:30 am. Their plan was to descend back to Camp 2 today and return to Base Camp tomorrow.
The previous age record was held by Yuichiro Miura of Japan, who summited Everest at 81 in 2013, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Lifetime climber but slow starter in the Himalaya
Carlos Soria was born in war-torn, impoverished Spain in 1939. He has seen profound changes in society and politics, but also in mountaineering, which he started practicing on the granite slabs of La Pedriza, near Madrid, as a teenager.
For most of his life, climbing an 8,000m peak was not on the horizon of most climbers, and even fewer imagined attempting all 14 of them. Soria also had a family, a carpentry business, and four daughters. He climbed extensively all his life, but for years, he limited himself to nearby mountains and, whenever possible, the Alps.
When he started visiting the Himalaya, he was already middle-aged. He always had a great relationship with local climbers there, especially with three young Sherpa brothers from the Makalu Valley. In later years, they founded the powerhouse Seven Summit Treks, which has become Nepal’s biggest expedition company. They still outfit all Soria’s expeditions.
Carlos Soria during an acclimatization trip above Manaslu’s Camp 1. Photo: Luis Miguel Soriano
Once he started with the 8,000’ers — climbing Nanga Parbat at age 51 — he never stopped. Determined to climb all of them, no matter how long it took, Soria broke multiple age records in the process. He summited K2 at 65, Kanchenjunga at 75, and Annapurna at 77.
He has summited 10 of his 8,000’ers after turning 60. As he often notes, he has also turned back short of the summit countless times. Safety is paramount for Soria, who has not lost a single toe or fingertip to frostbite.
The 1975 Manaslu expedition team from Madrid in 1975. Carlos Soria is the second from left, in the front row. Photo: RSA Penalara
Sweet anniversary
The current expedition on Manaslu was meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first summit of an 8,000m peak by a Spanish expedition. For Soria, it was more than nostalgic: He was a member of that 1975 Manaslu expedition but was not included on the summit team.
With today’s summit, he finds himself atop a Himalayan giant at an age when very few thought him able, after a knee replacement and a serious accident on Dhaulagiri two years ago. Soria broke his leg above 7,000m and had to be dragged down to Camp 2 in excruciating pain.
But Soria worked hard at rehab, did not skip a single training day, and never stopped believing he was going to climb Manaslu. This past February, he summited Aconcagua. Once in Nepal, he acclimatized in the Khumbu Valley before heading to Manaslu’s Base Camp.
Dhaulagiri remains the one 8,000m peak that has eluded him. He has attempted it a dozen times and never managed to reach the summit. Maybe next time.
