21 Facts About Ed Viesturs

Edmund "Ed" Viesturs is an American high-altitude mountaineer, corporate speaker, and well known author in the mountain climbing community.

Ed Viesturs was the first American to climb all 14 of the eight-thousander mountains, and the 5th person to do so without supplemental oxygen.

Ed Viesturs took part in the 1996 IMAX filming of Everest shortly after the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, which became the highest grossing documentary up to that time.

Ed Viesturs had a cameo in the 2000 film Vertical Limit.

Ed Viesturs was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, of Latvian and German descent.

Ed Viesturs was raised in Rockford, Illinois, Viesturs moved to Seattle, Washington in 1977 to attend the University of Washington.

Ed Viesturs graduated from the University of Washington in 1981 with a BS in zoology and worked as a guide for Rainier Mountaineering.

Ed Viesturs later obtained a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Washington State University.

Ed Viesturs served as a guide for Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants company during their 1995 Everest expedition.

Ed Viesturs was in the IMAX climbing team during the 1996 Everest Disaster.

Ed Viesturs was featured in David Breashears' documentary film Everest, and filming was delayed as a blizzard struck.

Ed Viesturs was featured in the Nova television documentary, Everest: The Death Zone, in which he and Breashears climbed Everest to the summit, while undergoing physical and mental tests to record the effects of altitude on humans.

In 2005, Ed Viesturs became the first American, and 12th climber in history, to summit all 14 mountains over 8,000 meters.

Ed Viesturs is the 5th climber in history to do it without using supplemental oxygen.

Research published in 2022 estimated that Ed Viesturs was one of only three climbers in history to have stood on the "true" geographical summit of all the eight-thousanders and that Ed Viesturs was the first to do so.

Ed Viesturs led an expedition to Antarctica, in January 2011, to climb its highest peak, Vinson Massif.

Ed Viesturs was a cinematographer for the film Trio for One, which told the story of French alpinist Jean-Christophe Lafaille's mission to climb Dhaulagiri, Nanga Parbat, and Broad Peak in a period of two months.

Ed Viesturs acts as a design consultant for manufacturers of outdoor equipment, and is a representative of his adopted hometown's football team, the Seattle Seahawks.

Ed Viesturs is a member of the board of directors for Big City Mountaineers, an urban youth organization that offers wilderness experiences.

Ed Viesturs has found a niche as a corporate motivational speaker.

Ed Viesturs is the recipient of the Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Award Ed Viesturs was named National Geographic's Adventurer of the Year.