One Left For Lock
Australia’s leading mountaineer, Andrew Lock, has managed to tick another peak off his to-do list, despite enormous political upheaval throughout the Himalayan region during the climbing season.
After unforecast strong winds forced a number of climbers to abandon their attempts on Mt Makalu, Andrew pushed on and reached the summit on 21 May, along with Ted Atkins (UK) and Radek Jaros (Czech Republic). At 8470 metres, the top of Makalu is the fifth highest point on the planet and is the thirteenth peak that Lock has conquered in his bid to climb all 14 mountains over 8000 metres. Just Shishapangma now stands between him and the completion of his personal project, Summit 8000.
“It had been a long and difficult expedition and it was a great feeling to hug the tiny summit and look down upon the world,” reported Andrew by email. “Everest stood tall and proud a few kilometres away and hundreds of peaks of the Himalayan chain stretched east and west of me.”
For more details check out the climber’s website andrew-lock.com.