EverestHistory.com: Larry Nielson

"You don't conquer it, you survive it." - Larry Nielson

When Larry Nielson, along with Ang Rita Sherpa, summited Everest on May 7, 1983 he did what few other man had done, he climbed the world’s tallest mountain without the use of supplemental oxygen.

To understand how big, and dangerous, a feat this is one only has to look at the effects of high altitudes on the human body. Above 25,000 feet, the so-called “Death Zone”, the body goes through a series of changes as it tries to adapt to a lack of oxygen. Some people adapt better than other, some suffer hypoxia, brain swelling and death. Larry Nielson was one of the less than 90 people to make the summit without Oxygen and live to tell about it. Nielson was part of an American-German expedition led by Gerhard Lenser, which would put 8 men on the summit that season.

Nielson’s climbing career was not limited to one salient event. He has also climbed Kangchenjunga, LaPerouse, Peak Lenin, McKinley and Rainer 180 times.

As a young man Nielson was a five-sport athlete at Tumwater High School (Washington) and was a twice all-Evergreen Conference in cross country and a district all-star in 1969, placing second to earn a trip to nationals.

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