71-year-old Nam Sang-ik and 66-year-old Kim Deok-jin achieve world record as oldest climbers to summit 8163m Manaslu

2024 Korea Manaslu Dream Expedition Summit and Climbing Scenes [Photo provided by Korea Alpine Federation]

The Korea Alpine Federation (President Son Jung-ho) announced on the 1st that Nam Sang-ik (71, former Senior Vice President), the leader of the "2024 Korea Manaslu Dream Expedition," and member Kim Deok-jin (66, former President of the Gyeonggi-do Alpine Federation) reached the summit of Manaslu (8,163m), the world's eighth highest peak, at around 4:20 a.m. on September 25 (Nepal local time).

The expedition team departed on September 2 and arrived at the base camp (4,750m) on the 11th. They began their climb in earnest, moving between Camp 1 (5,800m), Camp 2 (6,400m), Camp 3 (6,800m), and Camp 4 (7,400m) from the 14th onward to acclimate to the altitude, monitor their condition, and assess weather changes.

After passing Camp 1 on the 22nd and arriving at Camp 3 on the 23rd, they spent a night at the final forward base camp on the 24th. Departing at 11 a.m. on the 24th, Kim Deok-jin finally reached the summit at 4:20 a.m. on the 25th, breaking the previous world record for the oldest ascent of Manaslu held by Mark Trebo Airey (Australia) at age 65, set last year. Thirty minutes later, leader Nam Sang-ik reached the summit, setting a new record at the age of 71.

The federation stated, "The two mountaineers accomplished the feat of climbing Manaslu, which is riddled with steep vertical ice walls that are difficult even for young climbers, earning praise from foreign expedition teams for the challenging spirit of Korean mountaineers." They added, "Both members are in good health and are scheduled to return to Incheon International Airport in the early morning of October 3."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.