Ivan Vallejo
Encyclopedia
Iván Vallejo Ricaurte is a mountaineer
from Ecuador
. On May 1, 2008, he finished his "Desafio 14" – a personal quest for reaching the summit of all 14 mountains above 8,000 m (eight-thousanders), without the use of supplemental oxygen.
Iván began climbing mountains in Ecuador such as Illiniza
Norte, Rumiñahui
, Tungurahua
and Carihuairazo
and soon enough, his hobby became a passion. On Oct 23, 1978, he reached the summit of Chimborazo
(6,310 m), his country’s highest peak. In 1988 he started climbing in the Cordillera Blanca
(Perú
) and in Bolivia
, having summitted mountains such as Artesonraju
, Alpamayo
, Huascarán
and Illampu
.
In 1995 he climbed the highest peak in the Alps
(Mont Blanc
) and his first Himalayan mountain (Island Peak, 6,187 m). The following year, he returned to Nepal and reached the summit of Ama Dablam
(6,856 m) and in 1997, he stood on top of his first eight-thousander – Manaslu
(8,163 m). In 1998, he climbed Broad Peak
(8,048 m) and in 1999, he summitted Mount Everest for the first time, thus becoming the first Ecuadorian to reach the top of the world's highest mountain. On May 22, 2006 Vallejo and João Garcia
from Portugal
, got the mountaintop of Kangchenjunga
.
On May 1, 2008, he finished climbing all 14 eight-thousanders. As of 2008, only 18 other climbers have accomplished this feat. Iván is amongst the few 10 of them to do so without supplemental oxygen, in a time span of 11 years.
Iván is now considering other projects:
(8,156 m)
1998 – Broad Peak
(8,048 m)
1999, 2001 – Everest (8,848 m)
2000 – K2
(8,611 m)
2002 – Cho Oyu
(8,201 m)
2003 – Lhotse
(8,516 m)
2003 – Gasherbrum II
(8,035 m)
2003 – Gasherbrum I
(8,068 m)
2004 – Makalu
(8,485 m)
2004 – Shisha Pangma (8,012 m)
2005 – Nanga Parbat
(8,125 m)
2006 – Kangchenjunga
(8,598 m)
2007 – Annapurna
(8,091 m)
2008 – Dhaulagiri
(8,167 m)
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...
from Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. On May 1, 2008, he finished his "Desafio 14" – a personal quest for reaching the summit of all 14 mountains above 8,000 m (eight-thousanders), without the use of supplemental oxygen.
Biography
Iván Vallejo Ricaurte was born in Ambato, Ecuador in 1959 and is the father of Andy and Kamilla. He graduated as a chemical engineer and taught mathematics to university students from 1988 to 2000. At that stage, he decided to become a full-time mountain climber.Iván began climbing mountains in Ecuador such as Illiniza
Illiniza
The Illinizas are a pair of mountains that are located to the south of Quito. They are found in the ecological reserve that shares its name with the mountains. These twin mountains are separated in the middle by a saddle that is about a kilometer long...
Norte, Rumiñahui
Rumiñahui
Rumiñahui may refer to:*Rumiñahui *Rumiñahui *Rumiñahui...
, Tungurahua
Tungurahua
Tungurahua, , rahua : "Throat of Fire" or from Panzaleo) is an active stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Oriental of Ecuador. The volcano gives its name to the province of Tungurahua...
and Carihuairazo
Carihuairazo
Mount Carihuairazo is a volcanic caldera neighboured by Ecuador's highest mountain Chimborazo.-Location:Carihuairazo is located in the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes of central Ecuador, south-southwest of the capital Quito. Its neighboured by 6,267 m high Chimborazo...
and soon enough, his hobby became a passion. On Oct 23, 1978, he reached the summit of Chimborazo
Chimborazo (volcano)
Chimborazo is a currently inactive stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 AD....
(6,310 m), his country’s highest peak. In 1988 he started climbing in the Cordillera Blanca
Cordillera Blanca
The Cordillera Blanca is a mountain range in the Ancash Region of Peru. Part of the larger Andes range, it includes 33 major peaks over high in an area wide and long.-Overview:...
(Perú
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
) and in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, having summitted mountains such as Artesonraju
Artesonraju
Artesonraju is a peak in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range, a part of the Peruvian Andes, is also known as Arteson. To reach the lake there is a dirt road from Caraz which climbs +2000m along 32km in about 1:40 hours. At Pueblo Paron there's a check point and a gate, where visitors must pay...
, Alpamayo
Alpamayo
Alpamayo is one of the most conspicuous peaks in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range of the Peruvian Andes.It is a steep , almost perfect pyramid of ice, one of a number of peaks that compose the Santa Cruz massif, the northernmost massif of the Cordillera Blanca...
, Huascarán
Huascarán
Huascarán or Nevado Huascarán is a mountain in the Peruvian province of Yungay, situated in the Cordillera Blanca range of the Western Andes. The highest southern summit of Huascarán is the highest point in Peru, and all the Earth's Tropics...
and Illampu
Illampu
Illampú is the fourth highest mountain in Bolivia. It is located in the northern section of the Cordillera Real, part of the Andes, east of Lake Titicaca. It lies just north of the slightly higher Ancohuma, near the town of Sorata...
.
In 1995 he climbed the highest peak in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
(Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
) and his first Himalayan mountain (Island Peak, 6,187 m). The following year, he returned to Nepal and reached the summit of Ama Dablam
Ama Dablam
Ama Dablam is a mountain in the Himalaya range of eastern Nepal. The main peak is , the lower western peak is . Ama Dablam means "Mother's necklace"; the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother protecting her child, and the hanging glacier thought of as the dablam, the traditional...
(6,856 m) and in 1997, he stood on top of his first eight-thousander – Manaslu
Manaslu
Manaslu , also known as Kutang) is the eighth highest mountain in the world, and is located in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. Its name, which means "Mountain of the Spirit", comes from the Sanskrit word Manasa, meaning "intellect" or "soul"...
(8,163 m). In 1998, he climbed Broad Peak
Broad Peak
Broad Peak , is the 12th highest mountain on Earth, with an elevation of 8,051 meters . The literal translation of "Broad Peak" to Faichan Kangri is not accepted among the Balti people.- Geography :...
(8,048 m) and in 1999, he summitted Mount Everest for the first time, thus becoming the first Ecuadorian to reach the top of the world's highest mountain. On May 22, 2006 Vallejo and João Garcia
João Garcia
João José Silva Abranches Garcia, is a leading mountaineer in Portugal. His main professional activities are as organizer and guide in mountaineering expeditions. On May 18, 1999, he became the first Portuguese man to reach the summit of Mount Everest, without the use of supplementary oxygen...
from Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, got the mountaintop of Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of and located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over...
.
On May 1, 2008, he finished climbing all 14 eight-thousanders. As of 2008, only 18 other climbers have accomplished this feat. Iván is amongst the few 10 of them to do so without supplemental oxygen, in a time span of 11 years.
Iván is now considering other projects:
"There are always challenges, things you’ve never done before and you’d like to try. Polar expeditions are especially appealing: Moving on a different terrain, solve other kinds of obstacles and difficulties. I’ll start working on it when I’m done with the 14, 8000ers."
Timeline of "Desafio 14"
1997 – ManasluManaslu
Manaslu , also known as Kutang) is the eighth highest mountain in the world, and is located in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. Its name, which means "Mountain of the Spirit", comes from the Sanskrit word Manasa, meaning "intellect" or "soul"...
(8,156 m)
1998 – Broad Peak
Broad Peak
Broad Peak , is the 12th highest mountain on Earth, with an elevation of 8,051 meters . The literal translation of "Broad Peak" to Faichan Kangri is not accepted among the Balti people.- Geography :...
(8,048 m)
1999, 2001 – Everest (8,848 m)
2000 – K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
(8,611 m)
2002 – Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu lies in the Himalayas and is 20 km west of Mount Everest, at the border between China and Nepal...
(8,201 m)
2003 – Lhotse
Lhotse
Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth and is connected to Everest via the South Col. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres above sea level, Lhotse Middle is and Lhotse Shar is...
(8,516 m)
2003 – Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum II , also known as K4, is the 13th highest mountain on Earth, located on the border of Gilgit-Baltistan province, Pakistan and Xinjiang, China...
(8,035 m)
2003 – Gasherbrum I
Gasherbrum I
Gasherbrum I , also known as Hidden Peak or K5, is the 11th highest peak on Earth, located on the Pakistan-China border in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan and Xinjiang region of China. Gasherbrum I is part of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakoram region of the Himalaya...
(8,068 m)
2004 – Makalu
Makalu
Makalu is the fifth highest mountain in the world at and is located southeast of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and China...
(8,485 m)
2004 – Shisha Pangma (8,012 m)
2005 – Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain on Earth, the second highest mountain in Pakistan and among the eight-thousanders with a summit elevation of 8,126 meters...
(8,125 m)
2006 – Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of and located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over...
(8,598 m)
2007 – Annapurna
Annapurna
Annapurna is a section of the Himalayas in north-central Nepal that includes Annapurna I, thirteen additional peaks over and 16 more over ....
(8,091 m)
2008 – Dhaulagiri
Dhaulagiri
Dhaulagiri is Earth's seventh highest mountain at ; one of fourteen over eight thousand metres. Dhaulagiri was first climbed May 13, 1960 by a Swiss/Austrian expedition....
(8,167 m)