Ed Viesturs

Edmund Viesturs, known as Ed Viesturs (born June 22, 1959) is one of the world's premier high-altitude mountaineers. He is one of only 21 people and the only one from the United States to have climbed all eight-thousander peaks. He has summited peaks of more than 8,000 meters for a total of 21 times, including Mount Everest seven times, which makes him the second person with most total summits, only behind the Basque climber Juanito Oiarzabal who has reached 25 summits. He has reached all of the aforementionned summits without supplementary oxygen.

Early life

Born of Latvian and German descent in Fort Wayne, Indiana and raised in Rockford, Illinois, Viesturs moved to Seattle, Washington in 1977 to attend the University of Washington. It was here that he began his mountaineering career on the slopes of Mount Rainier. Viesturs graduated from the University of Washington in 1981 with a BS in zoology and eventually became a guide for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. He later obtained a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree from Washington State University.

Mountain climbing career

His interest in the Himalayas was sparked in high school by reading Maurice Herzog's account of the first climb of Annapurna. After climbing Kanchenjunga in 1989, Mount Everest in 1990 and K2 in 1992, Viesturs became an international mountain guide and was sponsored for full-time...
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