Legendary Spanish alpinist Carlos Soria has become the oldest person to climb an 8,000-metre peak after summiting Mt Manaslu (8,163 metres) at the age of 86 on Friday morning.

Soria reached the top at 5:30 am local time, said Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Seven Summit Treks, the agency managing the expedition.

“He is now the planet’s oldest climber to reach a peak above 8,000 metres,” Sherpa said. “He is safe and descending.”

The previous record was held by Japan’s Yuichiro Miura, who scaled Everest in 2013 at the age of 80.

Born in Ávila, northwest of Madrid, Soria worked as an upholsterer before devoting his life to the mountains.

Over the past two decades, he has carved out a unique place in climbing history, repeatedly breaking age barriers in high-altitude mountaineering.

Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest mountain, holds a special connection for Spain. This year’s ascent coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first Spanish expedition to the peak in 1975.

Soria himself was part of that historic mission, climbing as high as 7,000 metres before retreating.

On April 26, 1975, Spaniards Gerardo Blazquez Garcia and Jeronimo Lopez Martinez, with Nepali guide Sonam Wolang Sherpa, became the first Spanish team to reach the summit.

That triumph came after an earlier attempt in 1973, when a 12-member Spanish expedition led by Jaime García Orts reached 6,050 metres but fell short.

Friday’s climb marked Soria’s second success on Manaslu. His first came in 2010, when he reached the top without supplemental oxygen at the age of 71.

Known in Nepal as the “killer mountain” for its difficulty and high fatality rate, Manaslu has long tested climbers’ endurance and resilience.

Soria has now summited 12 of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 metres.

The two remaining are Dhaulagiri in Nepal and Shishapangma in Tibet, China. If he succeeds on both, he will fulfill his dream of becoming the oldest mountaineer to scale all 14 eight-thousanders.

Dhaulagiri has proved his greatest tormentor. Since 1998, he has attempted it 15 times without success.

In 2023, his bid ended after a Sherpa accidentally fell on him, causing a leg injury. In 2022, he climbed to 7,400 metres before retreating due to bad weather. The year before, knee problems and pandemic-related setbacks forced him to turn back twice.

Despite these frustrations, his record is extraordinary. Soria is the only climber to have summited ten 8,000-metre peaks after turning 60. He was the oldest person to reach the summits of K2 (at age 65), Broad Peak (68), Makalu (69), Gasherbrum I (70), Manaslu (71), Kangchenjunga (75), and Annapurna (77).

Starting out at 14 in the hills of Spain, Soria has transformed from a determined young alpinist into one of the most enduring figures in mountaineering. Beyond the Himalayas, he has also completed the Seven Summits challenge—the highest peak on each continent—finishing it after the age of 70.