Romanian climber conquers Gasherbrum II peak without supplemental oxygen

Romanian climber Alex Găvan has reached the Gasherbrum II peak in the Karakoram mountains, without the aid of supplemental oxygen.

This is the seventh, over 8,000-meter peak Găvan conquers, in a project to become the first Romanian who climbs all the 14 peaks of over 8,000 meters in the world, without supplemental oxygen.

The climber reached Gasherbrum II on July 18, in an expedition that started on June 14. It was the fourth attempt to reach Gasherbrum II, after the ones in 2007, 2008, and 2016.

With this climb, Găvan also started a campaign to rescue and preserve the Romanichthys (Romanichthys valsanicola), an endangered freshwater fish. The species is over 65 million years old. Its habitat diminished considerably because of the unsustainable exploitation of rivers for the production of hydroelectricity.

“The 2018 WWF Living Planet report shows that the global populations of vertebrates decreased, on average, by 60% in the last 40 years. [...] saving this landmark species of Romania gives hope and a light to saving our own species from extinction,” the climber said.

So far, Găvan climbed the 8,201-meter Cho Oyu peak, the 8,080-meter Gasherbrum I, the 8,463-meter Makalu, the 8,153-meter Manaslu, the 8,027-meter Shisha Pangma, the 8,047-meter Broad Peak, and the 8,035-meter Gasherbrum II.

(Photo: Alex Gavan Facebook Page)