Alex Găvan (born 19 May 1982) is a leading Romanian mountaineer specializing in Himalayan climbing of 8,000 meter peaks without using supplemental oxygen or sherpa support in his ascents. By now he had successfully climbed seven 8,000 meter peaks.
Since 2006, Găvan runs a special project to climb all fourteen 8,000 meter mountains in the world. He is the first Romanian climber to reach the summit of Gasherbrum I, Makalu, and Shishapangma. His other three successful climbs of Cho Oyu, Manaslu, and Broad Peak are second Romanian ascents. In 2006, with the successful ascent of Cho Oyu, he became at 24 years old the youngest Romanian ever to have climbed an eight thousand meter peak and was among the few who freely spoke about the Nangpa La shootings. He was awarded with "The 2007 Romanian Sportsman of the Year in High Altitude Mountaineering" by the Romanian Federation of Alpinism and Sport Climbing for the first Romanian ascent of Gasherbrum I.
8,000 m+ mountains summited
2006: Cho Oyu (8,201 m) - second Romanian ascent, without bottled oxygen
2007: Gasherbrum I (8,080 m) – first Romanian ascent, without bottled oxygen, alpine style 2008: Makalu (8,485 m) – first Romanian ascent, without bottled oxygen 2011: Manaslu (8,156 m) – second Romanian ascent, without bottled oxygen 2013: Shishapangma (8,027 m) - first Romanian ascent, without bottled oxygen 2014: Broad Peak (8,047 m) - second Romanian ascent, without bottled oxygen 2019: Gasherbrum II (8,035 m) - third Romanian ascent, without bottled oxygen
Other notable ascents
2004: Chapaeva (6,130 m) 2005: Mont Blanc (4,810 m) – Miage–Bionnassay route
Notes
In 2007 and 2008, Găvan attempted Gasherbrum II (8,034 m), but due to bad weather and high risk of avalanches, he was forced to retreat, both times, at 7,000 m.