#193: Kiek Stam

Kosciuszko · Carstensz · Completed 2006-05-29

Netherlands · Male

Born in 1944

Kick Stam is a Dutch mountaineer, born on 24 August 1944, and a resident of Geldrop-Mierlo in the Netherlands.

Career and route to climbing

Stam worked at Philips, rising to president of one of the company's global businesses, Philips Lighting. He took early retirement to make time for expedition climbing, a passion he said dated back to age seven.

7 summits campaign

Stam's first of the 7 summits was Aconcagua. He went on to climb Kilimanjaro before attempting Everest from the Tibetan north side in 2003, turning back at 8,600 metres after his oxygen mask failed.

He returned to Everest in 2004 and reached the summit on 23 May, at age 59, again via the north side and with supplementary oxygen, as part of an expedition organised by Russell Brice's Himex, in which Edward Bekker also took part. He had to leave that expedition early because of illness.

Stam reached the top of Vinson on 21 December 2004, his fourth of the 7 summits, and said at the time he hoped to complete the round by the end of 2005. He climbed Elbrus, Carstensz Pyramid and Kosciuszko later in 2005.

An attempt on Denali in June 2005 was abandoned on 15 June after ten days pinned in high camp by a storm with winds of 75 miles per hour and roughly 1.5 metres of snowfall. He climbed Denali on 29 May 2006, becoming, according to contemporary reporting, the fourth Dutch climber and the first non-professional Dutch climber to complete the 7 summits.

Ascents as recorded by the climber

• Kilimanjaro: Machame route, with Edward Bekker, including his wife Marianne.

• Elbrus: standard route, with Edward Bekker, including his wife Marianne; reached both the east and west summits.

• Aconcagua: Falso de los Polacos route, with Edward Bekker.

• Denali: West Buttress route, with Alpine Ascents International guide Todd Passey.

• Vinson: standard route, with Alpine Ascents International guide Vern Tejas.

• Everest: North/Northeast ridge route, with Himex (Russell Brice).

• Carstensz Pyramid: standard route, with Mountain Trip guide Clark Fyans.

• Kosciuszko: standard route, unguided, together with his wife Marianne.