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Ranking in 7summits list, either CP or K | : | 118 |
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Ranking in Carstensz Pyramid list | : | 116 |
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Ranking in Kosciuszko list | : | 85 |
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First name | : | Ramón |
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Family name | : | Blanco |
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Gender | : | male |
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Country of origin | : | Spain |
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Date of Birth | : | 1933-04-30 |
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Name of first summit | : | Aconcagua |
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Date of climbing the first summit | : | 1975-12-29 |
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Name of final summit in Carstensz list | : | Carstensz |
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Date of final summit in Carstensz list | : | 2007-04-22 |
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Name of final summit in Kosciuszko list | : | Kosciuszko |
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Date of final summit in Kosciuszko list | : | 2003-12-29 |
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Date of climbing Kilimanjaro | : | 2002-10-09 |
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Date of climbing Elbrus | : | 2001-06-24 |
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Date of climbing Aconcagua | : | 1975-12-29 |
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Date of climbing Denali | : | 2002-05-20 |
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Date of climbing Vinson | : | 2000-01-04 |
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Date of climbing Everest | : | 1993-10-07 |
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Date of climbing Carstensz Pyramid | : | 2007-04-22 |
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Date of climbing Kosciuszko | : | 2003-12-29 |
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Climbed Carstensz Pyramid? | : | Yes |
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Climbed Kosciuszko? | : | Yes |
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Total time including Carstensz Pyramid | : | 31y,114d |
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Total time including Kosciuszko | : | 28y,000d |
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Age when finished with CP | : | 73y,357d |
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Age when finished with K | : | 70y,242d |
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Website | : | http://www.ramonblanco.com |
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Additional Info | : | The oldest 7summiteer so far! He only climbed his first of the 7summits when he was 42 and climbed all others after his 60th birthday!
He lives in Venezuela and makes string instruments.
The following is from his website, thanks to www.Mounteverest.net for translating it.
When Ramón Blanco stood on Mount Kosciuszko on December 29, 2003, he was 70 years and 243 days old (source AdventureStats). With that, he became the oldest climber to finish the Kosciuszko-version of the Seven Summits.
An unusual mountaineer, and an extraordinary man, Ramón initially studied business administration, but left to pursue his real dreams – mountaineering and building musical instruments.
“I didn’t learn climbing until I was 32 years old”, Ramón writes on his website. “At an age when most mountaineers are already veterans”.
Ramon finally learned climbing in the National Mountaineering School of Mexico, but before that he had already ventured on Mexican 5000 meter volcanoes by himself.
His first encounters with climbing were very simple:
"My friends and I went out in a straight line, through the pine forests without a clear aim - guided by the snow peak we occasionally spotted. We had no gear, simply because we didn’t own any. Tents, stoves, or boots – we had practically nothing.
We spent the nights by a fire, hurdled together – switching places occasionally (those at the sides would go to the middle to enjoy warmer temperatures for a while). In the morning, we’d hurry back on the trail. The distances were always longer than we had calculated. Turning back home, we often got lost – arriving in completely different towns. The forest was dense, there were no paths, and we owned no compass. We ate our food rations long before schedule. I would return to the mountain with “new” friends almost every time – for my first companions had had enough of such adventures and such a “guide”.
Well, October 7 l964 Ramon and his friends summited at last their first mountain; Popocatepetl 5.452m:
“Suddenly I was at the edge of the crater! Surprise, tremor and tears of emotion. I had never
seen anything like it – or climbed such a high mountain. I believe that that was the "push" towards what later would come. I waited for my friends. They followed, dressed in their regular street wear, Raul with his simple boots, today they would be called “trekking shoes”. We were in awe. We shot pictures. And then we ran down, snow blind with semi frozen feet, and sun burned faces.”
In 1993, almost 30 years later, Ramon stood on top of Everest. And this past December, Ramon crowned his 40 years of mountaineering with the last of the Seven Summits.
When not climbing, Ramón crafts instruments. Guitars and Mandolins among other. Check his website for videos, pictures and some music too.
Image courtesy of www.ramonblanco.com |
