• At 17, the Franco-Scottish Alasdair McKenzie has just climbed two of the highest peaks on the planet in just nine days.

  • In mid-May in the Himalayas, he conquered Lhoste (8,516 m), thus becoming the youngest mountaineer to climb it, before continuing on May 24 with Makalu (8,485 m).

  • The young man, who dreams of becoming a high mountain guide, will leave Nepal this Wednesday to join France.

He was born in Lorient, by the sea. Yet it is in the mountains that Alasdair McKenzie gets his kicks.

More into skiing than sailing, this Franco-Scotsman was already hitting the slopes at the age of two.

Seven years later, he moved with his family to the Alps, first to Chamonix then to Tignes where he now lives.

Not far from turning pro, the young man saw his dream fly away due to repeated injuries.

“I stopped competing last year,” he says without too many regrets.

His passion for the mountains, however, remained intact.

Last summer, the 17-year-old gave up his skis to start mountaineering.

"I climbed Mont-Blanc, the Matterhorn, the Eiger and other peaks between 3,000 and 4,000 m in the Alps," he says.

All in all, a little quiet training for the young mountaineer, who will immediately embark on a first trip to Nepal this fall.

"I wanted to try a summit at 6,000m and another at 7,000m just to test myself and see how my body would react," he says.

The youngest mountaineer in the world to overcome the Lhoste

The test seems to have been conclusive since at the beginning of April, Alasdair McKenzie was already back in Kathmandu.

After several weeks of acclimatization, he set off in mid-May to attack Lhoste, the fourth highest peak in the world, which culminates at 8,516 meters.

“With my Sherpa, we left Camp 3 and it took six hours to reach the summit, which we reached at 7:30 a.m., he says.

It was magical up there, the scenery is absolutely stunning.

We quickly forget the suffering endured.

Becoming the youngest mountaineer in the world to overcome Lhoste, Alasdair McKenzie did not really have time to celebrate his record.

Not satisfied, he then continued nine days later with the ascent of Makalu, the fifth highest peak in the world (8,485 m) located on the border between Nepal and China.

"I hadn't necessarily planned to go on but I felt good physically and I took up the challenge", he explains in the simplest way possible.

Assaulting Manaslu without oxygen

This Wednesday, he will leave the Himalayas fifteen pounds lighter to reach France and reunite with his family and friends.

"It was pure happiness but it's still a long two months", confides the high school student, who follows his schooling at home.

After a few days of rest, those who dream of becoming a high mountain guide will once again survey the Alpine peaks.

With a new goal already in mind: "I want to climb Manaslu, the 8th highest peak in the world, in September, but this time without the supply of oxygen".

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