Romanian climbs 8,000m peak in Pakistan without extra oxygen

Romanian Alex Gavan climbed on July 23 the Broad Peak (8,047m) in Pakistan' Karakoram, without supplementary oxygen. This is his sixth 8,000m peak he climbed without extra oxygen or Sherpa support, according to an announcement posted on Gavan’s Facebook page. Alex Gavan started to descend this morning (July 24) heading towards Base Camp, along with Bulgarian climbers Boyan Petrov and Ivan Tomov. “Over 8,000m, in the so called "death zone", the air is so thin that it sets the borders of a unique, but frozen world, devoid of life. For Alex, reaching the summit of an 8,000-er and descending safe and sound, without supplementary oxygen or Sherpa support, is a way to celebrate life and human drive (…),” reads the Facebook post. Alex Gavan previously climbed Shishapangma (8,027m), Manaslu (8,156m), Makalu (8,463m), Gasherbrum 1 (8,068m) and Cho Oyu (82,01m). More about him on his official website here. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (Photo: Alex on the summit of Manaslu, by Richard Hidalgo, Alex Gavan's Archive from Facebook)