Conquered 32 peaks in 17 years: A mainland climber challenges himself

Renowned mountaineer Zhang Liang also rewrote the history of amateur mountaineering on the mainland last October by conquering the world's ninth-highest peak—Nanga Parbat—and joining the "14 Peaks Club." Although Zhang is just a banker and only began his climbing journey in 2000, even his experience with altitude sickness once led him to declare, "I will never climb again." But Zhang kept climbing for 17 years and conquered 32 peaks.

"Every climb is a dialogue with life." Although Zhang has conquered 32 peaks, he still holds a deep respect for all high mountains. In September 2000, Zhang climbed a mountain for the first time. Although his first ascent was of Yuzhu Peak, which stands at 6,224 meters above sea level, he suffered from splitting headaches and severe vomiting as soon as he reached the 5,000-meter-high south base camp of Yuzhu Peak due to altitude sickness.

Altitude sickness once made Zhang declare, "I will never climb again!" But the following year, he challenged Muztagh Ata, and has continued climbing for 17 years ever since. "Being able to set aside time each year to climb and change my lifestyle and environment is great."

During a gathering with fellow climbers, a remark by mainland entrepreneur Wang Shi—"Why not challenge the 14 peaks over 8,000 meters?"—ignited Zhang Liang's sense of adventure and motivated him to keep striving toward the "14+7+2" goal (referring to the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 meters, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents, and the North and South Poles).

Over the past 17 years, Zhang Liang has encountered four major mountaineering disasters. The most recent was in March 2015 while climbing Annapurna. Although Zhang and his fellow climbers successfully reached the summit, they got lost in the dark during the descent and were trapped on hard ice at 7,000 meters. The guide and a Finnish team member unfortunately fell to their deaths and are buried there. They endured until the next morning before managing to return to the camp and spent nearly 30 hours escaping the danger.

Now, Zhang Liang is just one peak away from completing the "14+7+2" goal—the highest peak in North America, Denali. He said he will attempt to complete this final peak challenge in May this year.