João Garcia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
João José Silva Abranches Garcia, (born June 11, 1967, in Lisbon, Portugal) is a leading mountaineer in Portugal. His main professional activities are as organizer and guide in mountaineering expeditions. On May 18th, 1999, he became the first Portuguese man to reach the summit of Mount Everest, without the use of supplementary oxygen. Three years later, in 2002, he published a book, "A mais alta solidão", in which he describes his experiences in mountain climbing, namely his 1999 expedition to Everest, where he passed through bitter adversities. Nevertheless, João Garcia continued to climb and is now trying to summit the eight-thousanders and the Seven Summits.
[edit] Biography
Born in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, João Garcia started practicing mountaineering in 1982 (15 years old), when he travelled to Serra da Estrela by bicycle to practice rock climbing with “Clube de Montanhismo da Guarda” (CMG) (Guarda mountaineering club). In the following year (1983) he started ice climbing. In 1984 he went on an expedition to the Alps with CMG, having ascend to Mont Blanc for the first time. The following years he climbed several other summits in the Alps.
In the meanwhile he practiced triathlon, allowing him to gather the necessary physical condition to succeed in mountain climbing.
In 1993 he started his activities in the Himalayas, as part of an international Polish expedition (led by Krysztof Wielicki) to Cho Oyo, in Tibet. The ascent was performed by a new route and without the aid of supplementary oxygen. Since then he ascended to several Himalayan summits, including six more of the fourteen eight-thousanders.
In May 18th, 1999, he became the first Portuguese person to climb Mount Everest (8848m), by is north face route, again without using supplementary oxygen. During the descent his partner, the Dutch Pascal Debrouwer, fell to his death. Due to the harsh weather, João Garcia suffered from severe frostbite in his fingers and face, leading him to spend some time in a hospital in Zaragoza, Spain, where he had some of his fingers amputated.
In 2006 he started, with his expedition to Kanchenjunga (8586 m), the project “À conquista dos Picos do Mundo” (Conquering the world peaks), where he aspires to climb (without supplementary oxygen and between 2006 and 2010), eight of the fourteen eight-thousanders, finishing the fourteen summits in 2010. He reached the summit of Kanchenjunga in May 22nd, 2006, along with Ivan Vallejo from Ecuador.
Still in 2006, João Garcia led a Portuguese expedition to Shishapangma (8046m), including the mountaineers Bruno Carvalho, Hélder Santos, Rui Rosado and Ana Santos. The journalist Aurélio Faria has followed part of the expedition. João Bruno and Rui reached the summit in October 31st. Bruno fell to his death during the descent.
João Garcia has already climbed six of the Seven Summits (the highest mountains of each of the seven continents): Mount Everest (Asia), Aconcagua (South America), Mount McKinley (North America), Elbrus (Europe), Vinson Massif (Antarctica) and Kilimanjaro (Africa). Only the Carstensz Pyramid (in Oceania) is missing.
Nowadays, João Garcia is the only Portuguese high altitude and extreme conditions cameraman, having directed several documentaries about his expeditions, most of them broadcasted in Portuguese television. He is the author of the book “A mais alta solidão” (The highest loneliness), having sold more than 30 thousand copies; and “Mais além – para além do Evereste” (Further – beyond Everest), published in February 2007, and dedicated to the memory of Bruno Carvalho.
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