Compiled by Outside Online

March 21, 2002 Already America's best known mountaineer, Ed Viesturs's popularity is soaring at a meteoric pace as he prepares for a spring expedition to Nepal's 26,504-foot Annapurna and closes in on his quest to climb all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks without bottled oxygen.

After reaching the summit of Shishapangma in Tibet last spring, only Annapurna and 26,660-foot Nanga Parbat in Pakistan stand in the way of Viesturs becoming the first American to repeat Reinhold Messner's oxygen-free feat.

A renowned climber worldwide, Viesturs, who has summited Everest five times, is known for both his superhuman ability to tolerate the thin air atop the world and willingness to abandon a summit bid if he deems conditions unsafe (see "The Immovable Object Meets the Unstoppable Force," Outside magazine, December 2000)

Viesturs, 42, landed in the media spotlight with his starring role in David Breashears's IMAX blockbuster, Everest, which detailed the infamous 1996 tragedy on the world's highest peak. Viesturs also played a supporting role in the 2001 Hollywood mountaineering action film Vertical Limit.

Now, as he prepares for a second attempt of Annapurna in April—he halted a spring 2000 expedition due to avalanche conditions—with a team that includes longtime partner, Finlander Viekka Gustafsson, his celebrity status will reach new heights as he makes multiple television appearances and receives prominent coverage from major media outlets.

Viesturs is scheduled to be a guest on NBC's "Today" show Friday morning and, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, will file live reports with the program while on Annapurna. NBC "Dateline" has also been shooting footage of Viesturs for a possible segment and the New York Times will feature him in the Sunday Magazine, the Post-Intelligencer reports. As a spokesman for Microsoft, Viesturs is positioned at the top of the corporate Web site and will laud the company's Office XP software in an upcoming television commercial.

Viesturs, who says he has "never had a bad day in the mountains," told the Post-Intelligencer he remains puzzled about his ever-growing fame.

"I'm still mystified by why people are so interested in me," he was quoted as saying. "It doesn't go to my head. I still love what I do, whether people follow me or not."

As for Annapurna, Viesturs's team plans to avoid the traditional south face and ascend to the 23,000-foot summit of Fingu Chuli via its west face, then traverse to the east ridge of Annapurna and follow its length to the summit. This route will allow them to skirt the notorious avalanche danger of the south face, but will require them to remain at altitudes between 23,000 and 26,000 feet for a few days rather than hours on the night of a summit bid.

Two Web sites will follow Viesturs in Nepal, www.edviesturs.com and www.annapurna2002.com/