Seneca Space de Alicante will host a new session of its forum for the diffusion of knowledge, arts and talent, focusing on the Basque mountaineer’s upcoming challenge: Denali in Alaska. Standing at 6,195 meters, Denali is the highest peak in the United States. After a successful expedition last year, the climber from the wider region aims to conquer this formidable summit, which sits in a protected area within the Alaska Range alongside peaks such as Hunter, Foraker and Huntington. The public talk is scheduled to begin at 19:00 on Thursday, April 27, with journalist Daniel Terol guiding the discussion under the banner Mountaineering Challenge: Carlos Cardelle through a life of constant ascent.
Cardelle himself explains his approach in plain terms: a gradual education in mountaineering, moving from one challenge to the next. He serves as a member of the Special Operations Command team of the Spanish Armed Forces and is stationed at the Rabasa barracks in Alicante.
Orbit
Born in Barakaldo, Vizcaya, he grew up surrounded by mountains and developed a lifelong passion for them. After starting his climbing career in Spain, he began traveling to peaks around the world. In 2005 he traveled to Peru to climb the 5,420-meter Urus Mountain. On reaching the summit he felt relief, and when he finally landed back in the safety zone he admits to crying from emotion.
Broad Peak, an Alicante challenge
That early experience spurred more ambitious goals. A year later he tackled the 4,167-meter Toubkal in Morocco, this time with skiing, though he paused for several years after. In 2013 he ventured to Italy to climb the 4,478-meter Mount Cervino. He would later push through Cotopaxi in Ecuador and take on yearly mounting challenges such as Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and peaks like Kalapatar and Manaslu in the Himalayas, with Pakistan’s Broad Summit among the recent ambitions.
Now, as he prepares for an expedition to Mount Denali in Alaska, he will be joined by another climber who wishes to share the adventure. What will this journey entail? What qualifications define a strong mountaineer? How can someone nurture this calling? These and many other questions will be explored in the new session of the Seneca Space Forum, which starts at 19:00 on Thursday, April 27.
Citation note: Information sourced from the Seneca Space Alicante program and public statements by Carlos Cardelle.