Jaime Viñals
Encyclopedia
Jaime Viñals Massanet is a Guatemala
n mountaineer
, the first Central America
n ever to climb the Earth's highest peak, Mount Everest
, and the only person from that region to have reached the Seven Summits
, the highest mountains of each of the seven (sub
-)continent
s.
, Viñals studied biology
at the Universidad de San Carlos
. He began climbing locally in 1987, aged 26. Since then, he has climbed over 300 mountains in 42 countries.
Viñals first attempted to get to the top of Mount Everest in the spring of 1994. After having passed the 8,000 meters mark, the expedition was unsuccessful at reaching the summit due to the inclement weather, and had to return. The group, however, succeeded at establishing a new ascending route. Viñals returned to the Everest in the spring of 1999, climbing through the South Col
route. While escalating, he injured himself, again unable to complete the ascent.
Viñals had climbed all the other peaks of the Seven Summits
challenge, including the ones listed on alternate definitions of the summit list, but still had not reached the peak of Everest. In 2001, he attempted the ascent for the third time. Using the less frequented North Col
as the climbing route, he and others reached the summit of the Everest on May 23. Viñals became the third Latin American person to climb to the peak of Everest and to complete the ascent to the Seven Summits, and the first from Central America
or the Caribbean
to achieve such feats.
In 2002, Viñals embarked on an attempt to climb the highest peak of each of the seven largest islands in the world. This project involves climbing the highest summit of the seven largest islands of the world:
Actually he is involved in a project called 50 MOST PROMINENCE SUMMITS OF THE WORLD, which means to climb all these mountains. As of March 2011 Jaime has reached 30 of them, making him number 1 in the world.
For more details please visit http://www.peaklist.org
Ramiro de León Carpio
.
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n mountaineer
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...
, the first Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n ever to climb the Earth's highest peak, Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
, and the only person from that region to have reached the Seven Summits
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...
, the highest mountains of each of the seven (sub
Subcontinent
A subcontinent is a large, relatively self-contained landmass forming a subdivision of a continent. By dictionary entries, the term subcontinent signifies "having a certain geographical or political independence" from the rest of the continent, or "a vast and more or less self-contained subdivision...
-)continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
s.
Biography
Born in Guatemala CityGuatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
, Viñals studied biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
at the Universidad de San Carlos
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala It is the biggest and oldest university of Guatemala, also it is the fourth founded in the Americas....
. He began climbing locally in 1987, aged 26. Since then, he has climbed over 300 mountains in 42 countries.
Viñals first attempted to get to the top of Mount Everest in the spring of 1994. After having passed the 8,000 meters mark, the expedition was unsuccessful at reaching the summit due to the inclement weather, and had to return. The group, however, succeeded at establishing a new ascending route. Viñals returned to the Everest in the spring of 1999, climbing through the South Col
South Col
The South Col usually refers to the southern col between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the first and fourth highest mountains in the world. When climbers attempt to climb Everest from the southeast ridge in Nepal, their final camp is situated on the South Col...
route. While escalating, he injured himself, again unable to complete the ascent.
Viñals had climbed all the other peaks of the Seven Summits
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...
challenge, including the ones listed on alternate definitions of the summit list, but still had not reached the peak of Everest. In 2001, he attempted the ascent for the third time. Using the less frequented North Col
North Col
The North Col refers to a sharp-edged pass or col carved by glaciers connecting Mount Everest and Changtse in Tibet. It forms the head of the East Rongbuk Glacier....
as the climbing route, he and others reached the summit of the Everest on May 23. Viñals became the third Latin American person to climb to the peak of Everest and to complete the ascent to the Seven Summits, and the first from Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
or the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
to achieve such feats.
In 2002, Viñals embarked on an attempt to climb the highest peak of each of the seven largest islands in the world. This project involves climbing the highest summit of the seven largest islands of the world:
| Island | Mountain Name | Altitude |
|---|---|---|
| Greenland Greenland Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for... |
Gunnbjørn Fjeld Gunnbjørn Gunnbjørn Fjeld is Greenland's highest mountain and also the highest mountain north of the Arctic circle. It is located in the Watkins Range on the east coast, which contains several other summits above 3500 metres. It is a nunatak, a rocky peak protruding through glacial ice... |
3693 m |
| New Guinea New Guinea New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago... |
Wilhelm Mount Wilhelm Mount Wilhelm is the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea at . It is part of the Bismarck Range and the peak is the point where three provinces intersect, Simbu, Western Highlands and Madang... |
4509 m |
| Borneo Borneo Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia.... |
Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay... |
4101 m |
| Madagascar Madagascar The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa... |
Maromokotro Maromokotro Maromokotro is the highest mountain on Madagascar at high. It is located in the Tsaratanana Massif in the northern part of the island.-External links:* Picture of Maromokotro... |
2876 m |
| Baffin Island Baffin Island Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000... |
Tête Blanche | 2156 m |
| Sumatra Sumatra Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538... |
Kerinci Mount Kerinci Mount Kerinci is the highest volcano in Indonesia, and the highest peak on the island of Sumatra... |
3800 m |
| Honshū Honshu is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait... |
Fuji Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan at . An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and... |
3776 m |
Actually he is involved in a project called 50 MOST PROMINENCE SUMMITS OF THE WORLD, which means to climb all these mountains. As of March 2011 Jaime has reached 30 of them, making him number 1 in the world.
For more details please visit http://www.peaklist.org
Honours
In 1995, Viñals was condecorated with the Orden del Quetzal from Guatemalan PresidentPresident of Guatemala
The title of President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1839, when that title was assumed by Mariano Rivera Paz...
Ramiro de León Carpio
Ramiro de León Carpio
Ramiro de León Carpio was the President of Guatemala from 6 June 1993 until 14 January 1996.-Career:He studied law at the University of San Carlos and then at the Rafael Landívar University, where he ran the Sol Bolivariano newspaper...
.
External links
- Spanish / English Official Web Site
- Spanish / English Official Web Site Terra.com Dedicated web site