Mountaineer Alasdair McKenzie is just one peak away from becoming the youngest person to have climbed the 14 highest mountains in the world. He is just 20 years old.
The feat of climbing all 14 peaks that are higher than 8,000m is regarded as the ‘grand slam’ of alpinism. Only around 50 mountaineers have completed it.
In June, Mr McKenzie climbed Cho Oyu in the Himalayas, his 13th peak.
While it is widely considered the easiest of the 14 to climb, he made his ascent from the south Nepalese side and not the Tibetan side. Nepal is trying to offer a commercial route to ascend Cho Oyu and needed mountaineers to ‘open’ it.
It took Mr McKenzie and a team of sherpas around 17 hours to complete their push from the final camp. He was leader on the climb, meaning the lives of his team depended on him and his decisions.
If he climbs to the top of Shishapangma, which is currently closed, he will become the youngest person to climb the 14 ‘eight thousanders’.
However, a Nepalese 18-year old named Nima Rinji Sherpa is also just one peak away, so he may have to hurry to claim the record.
The current record-holder is Mingma Gyabu Sherpa, who ascended all 14 peaks when he was 30.
Born in Lorient (Brittany), Mr McKenzie started skiing at the age of two and moved to Chamonix in the Alps when he was nine, eventually moving to Tignes, where he now lives.
He spent most of his childhood skiing at a high level but in his last year of skiing competitions, he decided that mountain-climbing was his true passion.
He started with Mont Blanc before climbing a few 3,000 and 4,000m peaks.
He then travelled to Nepal to climb a 6,000 and 7,000m mountain, where he fell in love with the country, the expeditions and the sherpa community.
Asked if he still gets scared, he told 20 Minutes: “All the time. In the mountains you’re often on the verge of death. But being scared is a strength. It keeps you alert and helps you make the right decisions at the right time.”
The race to the record
He has already become the youngest mountaineer to climb the five highest mountains in the world, so Shishapangma is the last peak standing in the way.
He hopes to make the 8,013m climb in the autumn but is waiting for the mountain to be opened up. As soon as it does, he will be racing there with his team.
He financed his first few climbs from an inheritance from his grandfather, refusing to take money from his parents because of the risks involved.
Now, he is funded by sponsors, which has sometimes seen him signing contracts online on the side of one of the highest mountains in the world.
