Participating climbers who will attempt to reach summit from both north and south
Picking the Everest team was a major process. For a team to be considered «national,» all clubs have to be involved. «This team is a combination of climbers who have all been above 8,000 meters, but what is more important is to have climbers that are compatible,» said Aggelatos. «This is not usually a criterion for the federation, but it is for the climbers. They don’t want to climb with someone they don’t know, because when your life depends on a relative stranger and you are tied to each other by a rope, that is an extra fear, a risk factor, so compatibility is an issue that is very important. The climbers are the big story. What I provide is minimal. They do it all; they are doing what they love.» PANAYIOTIS KOTRONAROS, 33, a climbing instructor and member of the Greek Alpine Club (EOS) Athens, is leading the team that will attempt from the south side. He has completed a number of ascents in Greece, the French and Italian Alps, as well as in Scotland. The other members of the team climbing from the south are: PAVLOS TSIANTOS, 36, a sound-image engineer, is filming the mission. MICHALIS STYLLAS, 30, candidate for a doctorate in oceanography, a guide at Mt Rainier, USA. ANTONIS ANTONOPOULOS, 32, has climbed French and Italian Alps, in America as well as in Thailand GIORGOS VOUTYROPOULOS, 34, a public servant, mountain guide, and climbing trainer. SPYROS SOULIS, 35, an English teacher, has climbed a number of mountains in the Alps and Australia and has led mountaineering trips abroad. COSTAS TSIVELEKAS, 54, a customs official and member of the Athens Alpine Club (AOS) is leading the team that will attempt the north side. He has organized and taken part in two missions on Everest from the north flank. The other members of the team on the north side are: GIORGOS ARGYRIS, 34, AOS member. COSTAS APOSTOLOPOULOS, 33, member of EOS Lamia YIANNIS TILIOS, 40, a public servant, AOS member. PETROS KAPSOMENAKIS, 45, businessman, marathon and long-distance runner as well as a mountain climber with ascents in the Alps to his credit. GIORGOS TSIANOS, 28, has climbed everywhere from the Rockies in North America, to the Atlas Mountains, Morocco, as well as the Nepalese Himalayas. He is a graduate in anatomy and physiology doing research in cardiorespiratory physiology and survival at high altitudes, with an emphasis on acclimatization at high altitudes and altitude sickness, a former Greek national swimming champion and record holder, who swam the English Channel in 2000.
