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06-05-2007, 07:53 PM
Dutchman Vows To Conquer Everest
In Shorts and sandals. (http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=29&ContentID=29941)
A Dutchman who failed in his attempt to conquer Mount Everest just wearing shorts vowed today to have another half-naked crack at the world's highest peak next year.
Wim Hof, known as "Iceman" for his ability to withstand seemingly impossible levels of cold, managed to reach 7,400 metres in shorts on Everest earlier this month.
But he told reporters he still wanted to complete what he described as mountaineering's final challenge.
"Hillary did it with clothes and oxygen, that was the beginning," he said of Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay's historic first successful climb of the 8,848-metre peak in 1953.
"After, (Reinhold) Messner did it without oxygen, and now somebody is doing it in shorts. A bigger challenge you can't get," Hof said in an interview.
"Next year I will try Everest again, and then with a paraglider with two French people we will fly down," said Hof, who is 48.
The Dutchman was beaten back by a recurring foot injury he sustained while running barefoot inside the Arctic Circle last year.
"I went up with no problems whatsoever, but then this pain, this constriction of the veins inside my left foot began, and I knew I had to turn around," Hof said.
He had managed to climb from Everest base camp to around 6,700 metres just wearing shorts and open sandals, but after that he had to wear boots.
"From there you need crampons, which can't be attached to sandals," he explained.
In Shorts and sandals. (http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=29&ContentID=29941)
A Dutchman who failed in his attempt to conquer Mount Everest just wearing shorts vowed today to have another half-naked crack at the world's highest peak next year.
Wim Hof, known as "Iceman" for his ability to withstand seemingly impossible levels of cold, managed to reach 7,400 metres in shorts on Everest earlier this month.
But he told reporters he still wanted to complete what he described as mountaineering's final challenge.
"Hillary did it with clothes and oxygen, that was the beginning," he said of Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay's historic first successful climb of the 8,848-metre peak in 1953.
"After, (Reinhold) Messner did it without oxygen, and now somebody is doing it in shorts. A bigger challenge you can't get," Hof said in an interview.
"Next year I will try Everest again, and then with a paraglider with two French people we will fly down," said Hof, who is 48.
The Dutchman was beaten back by a recurring foot injury he sustained while running barefoot inside the Arctic Circle last year.
"I went up with no problems whatsoever, but then this pain, this constriction of the veins inside my left foot began, and I knew I had to turn around," Hof said.
He had managed to climb from Everest base camp to around 6,700 metres just wearing shorts and open sandals, but after that he had to wear boots.
"From there you need crampons, which can't be attached to sandals," he explained.