“Nanjing Warrior” Gu Jian Successfully Summits Everest
He is an employee of the provincial blood center and carried a blood sample from the one-millionth voluntary blood donor to express gratitude
“A citizen of our city, Gu Jian, successfully summited Mount Everest around 10 a.m. on May 19, becoming the first Nanjing resident to do so.” Yesterday, a Weibo post by “Nanjing Release” drew significant attention from netizens. The Nanjing warrior who conquered the world’s most extreme environment, Gu Jian, is an employee of the Jiangsu Provincial Blood Center, as well as a seasoned hiker and travel enthusiast. To fulfill his “Everest dream,” Gu Jian waited six full years for this moment. Yesterday afternoon, reporters contacted Gu Jian, who had already returned to the base camp at the foot of Everest on the 21st and is currently en route back to Lhasa, expected to return to Nanjing on the 25th.
Carrying 40 pounds to climb Purple Mountain for fitness
Now 50 years old, Gu Jian has been a super hiker for over a decade, passionate about outdoor activities and extreme sports such as exploration. Since his thirties, he became fascinated with mountaineering and has dreamed for years of conquering Everest. “I’ve been preparing for this day for six years,” Gu Jian said with heartfelt emotion over the phone after achieving his dream.
Conquering snow-capped mountains is a gradual process — rushing leads nowhere. Training must start at relatively lower altitudes. Due to harsh weather, there are only about 10 suitable climbing days on Everest each year, typically around mid-May. This extremely dangerous sport presents huge challenges to climbers’ physical strength and courage. Before scaling Everest, Gu Jian underwent intense physical training — four hours a day, including one and a half hours in the gym in the morning, and carrying 40 pounds of iron weights while climbing Purple Mountain in the afternoon, at least twice a day. Living at the foot of Purple Mountain gave him ideal training conditions. Years of training forged a strong and resilient physique. In early April, he arrived early at the foot of Everest and underwent nearly a month of acclimatization training.
Frostbitten toes, but overcoming altitude sickness
“The biggest challenge during the climb was altitude sickness,” Gu Jian said. In conditions of severe oxygen deprivation, every action and every step was difficult, and he also had to carry over 40 pounds of essential food and gear. Along the way, he mainly relied on dry rations for sustenance and melted snow for drinking water. Facing the challenge of the “life forbidden zone,” Gu Jian persevered with remarkable determination and unwavering belief. “The coldest spots on the mountain were minus forty-something degrees Celsius. Due to the lack of oxygen and extreme cold, sleep was very light at night. Also, the two big toes that were frostbitten during my climb of Muztagh Ata previously suffered mild frostbite again this time.” With every step, Gu Jian had to endure the pain. “In the end, I was completely relying on willpower to push myself forward.” Before leaving Nanjing, Gu Jian weighed 145 pounds — he lost over 20 pounds during the mountain climb.
Gu Jian told reporters that he felt very calm after descending the mountain. Now, the thing he wants most is to have a full meal and a good sleep. Having faced life-and-death tests, his longing for his family has grown even stronger. “Most of all, I want to see my family, reunite with my wife and children as soon as possible, and let them share in the joy of my success.”
Skipped family New Year gatherings for 10 years to challenge himself
“I haven’t spent New Year’s at home in 10 years. I usually don’t get holidays, so I just pack my bag and leave on New Year’s Eve,” Gu Jian said with guilt toward his wife and daughter. Starting in 2007, he successfully summited a series of peaks including Mount Siguniang, Yuzhu Peak, Muztagh Ata, and Cho Oyu, with elevations ranging from over 5,000 meters to over 8,000 meters. “The requirements for climbing Everest are very strict — you must have experience climbing two or three peaks over 7,000–8,000 meters, otherwise you won’t be accepted,” Gu Jian explained.
“Climbing is a challenge to oneself, and each mountain has its unique beauty. Only by challenging yourself does life gain more meaning.” In an interview with reporters, Gu Jian revealed the purpose behind his passion for mountaineering. As an employee of the provincial blood center, Gu Jian also carried a small “souvenir” during this successful conquest of the “life forbidden zone”: a blood sample from the one-millionth voluntary blood donor at the provincial blood center.
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Tilak Pandey, the liaison officer stationed at Everest Base Camp by the tourism and civil aviation ministry, told local media that a German climber died on the 19th at 7,906 meters on the southern slope of Everest; the other three — a Canadian climber, a Chinese climber, and a South Korean climber — died between the summit and the southern slope on the 19th and 20th.
Pandey said they likely died from altitude sickness and exhaustion.
First female athlete to summit Everest retires and transfers to Wuxi Sports Commission
At 2:30 p.m. on May 27, 1975, Chinese mountaineers successfully scaled the world’s highest peak on Tibetan sacred land — Mount Everest — with the bright five-starred red flag flying over the roof of the world. Among the nine athletes who reached the summit was a woman named Pan Duo, born in 1939 into a Tibetan serf family. As the deputy team leader of the Chinese mountaineering team, she, along with eight male teammates, ascended from the northeast ridge to the 8,844.43-meter summit of Everest, becoming the first woman in the world to summit the world’s highest peak from the north side. After retiring in 1980, Pan Duo was transferred in 1981 to serve as deputy director of the Wuxi Sports Commission in Jiangsu Province. (Correspondent Zhang Yan, Reporter Yang Tianzi)