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Scott Fischer: An aptitude for altitude

In March, Scott Fischer leads the fourth Everest Environmental Expedition to remove oxygen bottles and other trash left by climbers. Video, below, is of an earlier cleanup expedition.

The buzz
Fischer is a big-mountain, high-altitude specialist. In 1990, he did the first American ascent of 27,923-foot Lhotse, the world's fourth-tallest peak. In 1992, he climbed K2 via the Abruzzi Ridge--and without supplemental oxygen. He summited Everest last spring on an environmental expedition. And last August, he brought an expedition safely down from Pakistan's Broad Peak in the same harrowing storm that killed British climber Alison Hargreaves on nearby K2.

What's next
Fischer is leaving in late March to lead the fourth Everest Environmental Expedition, wherein climbers and Nepalese Sherpas will pack out some of the tons of old oxygen bottles and other trash left behind by less-enlightened climbers. "After 40 years of climbing expeditions, the biggest mountain on the planet is looking a lot like a garbage dump."

He also plans to do the north face of the Eiger this summer, then lead a new route up Pakistan's 26,000 foot Gasherbrum 4 next year.

Video (c) KIRO, Inc. 1994, courtesy Scott Fischer