35 years since Leopold Sulovský became first Czech to summit Everest
Thirty-five years ago, mountaineer Leopold Sulovský became the first Czech to reach the summit of Mount Everest. On May 17, 1991, he climbed the world’s highest mountain with an Italian expedition, reaching an altitude of 8,848 metres at a time when modern climbing equipment was far from standard.
On May 17, 1991, Leopold Sulovský became the first Czech to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He joined an Italian expedition that climbed to an altitude of 8,848 metres. Conditions were extreme, with poor visibility, strong winds and temperatures around minus 40 degrees Celsius. The modern equipment climbers rely on today was not yet available.
The most difficult part of the ascent was a fifty-metre rock step at an altitude of 8,450 metres. Sulovský crossed it without using supplemental oxygen, making it one of the toughest sections of the entire route.
Before the final push to the summit, the expedition faced an unexpected challenge when one of the climbers became unable to move. The team spent four days transporting him back to base camp before attempting the climb again.
Sulovský eventually reached the summit via the Great, or Norton, Couloir — a route that even an earlier American expedition had failed to complete. “I was in excellent physical and mental condition,” he later recalled.
After Everest, Sulovský continued taking part in major expeditions, climbing peaks including Dhaulagiri, Makalu, Lenin Peak and Pumori. He also led successful expeditions to K2 and Broad Peak.
