In May, when Mexico's Carlos Carsolio became the fourth and youngest person to climb the world's 14 tallest mountains, even many who follow mountaineering closely could say only, "Carlos who?" Strong, technically brilliant, fired by an almost poetic passion for the mountains, the 33-year-old had nonetheless developed into a world-class mountaineer with little of the publicity that bathes his North American and European counterparts.

That's likely to change. With his recent summit of Nepal's 26,780-foot Manaslu, Carsolio is now regarded as one of the preeminent big-mountain specialists, and his classical, or "alpine" style of climbing--fast, light, with no fixed ropes and only a single climbing partner (or sometimes no partner)--is itself likely to see a resurgence of popularity.

Following his adventure on Manaslu, where he and his brother, Alfredo, were hammered by bad weather for weeks before reaching the summit, Carsolio is home taking care of business. Once-rare sponsorships are flowing in. Carsolio is devoting most of this time to his climbing school in the mountains outside Mexico City. "It's kind of like Outward Bound for white-collar executives--team-building, leadership. It's fun and it's a good way to make money, because in Mexico you cannot make a living [solely] as a professional climber."

Also see: Paul Robert's profile of Carsolio written before he left for Manaslu