Abu Dhabi
It’s understandable why UAE-based adventurer Adrian Hayes is finding it difficult to believe what he has just achieved. Last week, the 55-year-old ex-armyman became the first Briton this year to conquer K2, and also possibly the first UAE resident ever to have scaled the world’s second highest and the most treacherous mountain, almost a year to the day after his first attempt had to be aborted due to bad weather.
Hayes’s achievement breaks new ground for a British adventurer, making him the first to conquer the world’s two highest mountains and reach both the North and South Poles.
“It’s yet to sink in, honestly,” Hayes told XPRESS from his base camp.
“It’s a very special moment and I am very proud of this achievement.”
K2 is statistically the world’s most dangerous mountain. It has been summited by less than 350 people compared to over 4,000 people who have summited Mount Everest in the same period.
“It’s like chalk and cheese comparing Mt Everest to K2. K2 has a lot more vertical sections. Climbers must be technically very good and experienced to cope with two notorious sections, ‘House’s Chimney’ and the ‘Black Pyramid’. Once safely past those, climbers are challenged by the Bottleneck couloir, forcing themselves underneath a set of massive serac,” he said.
The ‘Savage Mountain’ lies on the border of Pakistan and China and is regarded as the world’s most difficult mountain to climb. Adrian and Canadian teammate, Al Hancock, spent five weeks establishing camps and acclimatising before beginning their trek from base camp (5,100m). They reached the summit (8,611m) after five days of treacherous climbing.
“It’s important to choose the right time to do it. Last half of July is perhaps the best to scale K2 because the monsoon doesn’t come up,” he said.
The expedition was sponsored by UAE based Thuraya and their distributors XtraLink, who provided satellite communications systems for Hayes and his team throughout the expedition. Other sponsors were California Chiropractic Center, JA Resorts, outdoor clothing company Marmot, sports nutrition suppliers MEFITPRO and website designers Tentwenty. “The support from the UAE has been overwhelming, not just in terms of sponsorships. People have responded so well. I am really humbled,” he said.
Hayes plans to take some time off before planning his next adventure. “I will be back in the UAE at the start of August and then will go to UK for six weeks just to rest. Thereafter, I will embark on my new venture,” he said.
