CSR Archive

The story of Horia Colibășanu

Born in Timișoara in 1977, he is a mountaineer and dentist, as well as the first Romanian to reach the summits of Annapurna, Everest, K2, and Dhaulagiri, some of the Top 5 most dangerous mountains in the world. His ascents on these peaks were accomplished without supplemental oxygen and without the assistance of Sherpas. Horia Colibășanu is regarded as one of the greatest high-altitude mountaineering performers in Romania.

Horia Colibășanu received the “Spirit of Mountaineering” award (at the “Piolets d’Or,” 2009) from the British Alpine Club, the most prestigious mountaineering club in the world, as well as the National Order of the Star of Romania, Knight rank, awarded in 2017 by the President of Romania, Mr. Klaus Iohannis.

In 2024 Horia Colibășanu attempted an ascent on Gasherbrum II, his eleventh peak above 8.000 meters

Horia Colibășanu went on a new expedition to the Karakorum Mountains in Pakistan. The mountaineer is attempting an ascent of Gasherbrum II (8,035 m), his eleventh peak above 8,000 meters.

Horia Colibășanu holds the record for the most 8,000-meter peaks climbed by a Romanian, without supplemental oxygen and without assistance from Sherpas.

The “Gasherbrum II Expedition” is part of Horia Colibășanu’s project to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters on the planet.

The 13th highest peak in the world, Gasherbrum II, is located in the Karakorum massif on the border between Pakistan and China (Shaksgam Valley). It poses a challenge not only due to its height but also because of the severe weather conditions.

However, extremely bad weather prevented the ascent, forcing Horia Colibășanu to temporarily give up on his dream of conquering his eleventh 8,000-meter peak in the Himalayas.

“A lot has happened in recent days on our way to the summit, and I haven’t been able to put it into words until now. From 6,650 meters, it was very challenging due to the extreme cold. My hands froze just trying to write a short message. And this was during the day, at 6 PM.
The mountain may not be so difficult, but this is definitely not the best season in terms of weather. It snowed all night and all morning. We waited until around 5 PM for it to clear up a little, hoping we could make progress. But nothing changed. Moreover, Billy, an avalanche expert, told me there was a moderate but not negligible risk of avalanches. Last year, on Broad Peak, I spent only four days in the higher camps. Now I’ve already been up here for eight days. We stayed as long as we could, hoping the weather would improve enough to give us a small window. But it’s been like this almost the entire time we’ve been here. There are years like this, with disruptions. I knew that if we returned to base camp, we would have to give up,” Colibășanu wrote on his Facebook page.

Photo source: https://www.facebook.com/horia.colibasanu

Horia Colibășanu conquers Broad Peak (8,051 meters) in 2023

The mountaineer Horia Colibășanu has successfully summited Broad Peak (8,051 meters) in Pakistan without supplemental oxygen and without assistance from Sherpas. This is the tenth “eight-thousander” (peaks above 8,000 meters) in the athlete’s record.

The Romanian climber began the Broad Peak Expedition on June 25. By July 7, he had already reached Camp 1, situated at an altitude of 5,600 meters, where he joined Austrian climber Lukas Worle, whom he had met earlier at base camp. On July 13, the two reached Camp 3, the final intermediate point before the summit.

Horia Colibășanu shared the news of his success directly from the summit using a satellite phone.
“I’m on the summit, at 8,051 meters. It was a grueling 12-hour climb. A very long ridge. It was an extremely challenging summit because it was unclear which of the ridge’s peaks was the actual summit. I’ve made it to the top, I’m exhausted, and I want to begin the descent as soon as possible. I hope to return to base camp quickly. Best wishes from 8,051 meters!”

The “Broad Peak Expedition” is part of Horia Colibășanu’s ambitious project to conquer all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters on the planet.

Broad Peak is located in the Karakorum massif, within the Gasherbrum mountains, at the border between Pakistan and China. To the north, it is separated from K2 by the Godwin-Austen Glacier. Its name comes from its long, uniform ridge.

Photo source: https://www.facebook.com/horia.colibasanu

A New Expedition to the Himalayas with Alpinist Horia Colibășanu

Tomorrow, April 5th, Horia Colibășanu, the renowned Romanian mountaineer, embarks on an exciting journey with his team, Marius Gane and Slovak Peter Hámor, to conquer Kangchenjunga (8,586 m), the third-highest peak in the world and the only 8,000-meter summit yet to be reached by a Romanian. The expedition is planned to last two months.

“A weather window for the summit is expected around May 20th. Until then, we have time to acclimatize and prepare the route. Kangchenjunga is an incredibly high mountain, just 25 meters shorter than K2, yet equally challenging in structure. The distance between the final camp and the summit is immense,” Horia Colibășanu explains.

Ten years ago, Horia made his first attempt to conquer this peak but stopped 200 meters short of the summit due to extreme risks.

“If I had continued, it would have taken over six hours to return to the safety of the last camp. The risks were immense because I was out of resources. Now we are much better prepared, especially after last year’s expedition to Dhaulagiri. My experience over the past decade, combined with my partners’ extensive expertise, will be invaluable. Together, we have nearly 100 years of high-altitude mountaineering experience,” he adds.

Horia Colibășanu has participated in 23 international expeditions, making him the Romanian mountaineer with the most significant achievements in high-altitude climbing, having summited eight of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks.

The three climbers will ascend without Sherpa assistance or supplemental oxygen. Statistically, Kangchenjunga is the second most dangerous mountain in the world. Data from 2021 showed a mortality rate of 29.1%, meaning one in four climbers attempting the summit did not survive.

Kangchenjunga retains its reputation as the “untouched peak.” Out of respect for local beliefs, climbers from the first two successful expeditions stopped a few meters short of the summit to honor the sacred nature of the mountain.

Horia remains the only Romanian to have summited K2, Annapurna, and Dhaulagiri, three of the five most dangerous peaks in the world. His accomplishments have earned him numerous awards, including the National Order “Star of Romania” at the Knight rank, and he is an honorary citizen of Timișoara and Slatina.

We are proud of Horia Colibășanu, and the TEMAD and WD-40 teams support him in this extraordinary adventure.