Veikka came to the YLE interview looking very slim, he had lost 8kg while climbing Gasherbrum 1 and also hiking back from BC through Baltoro to Askole in 2½ days took it’s toll. They started hiking at 3 o’clock everyday and did 15h days.

Photo courtesy of Haglöfs
“It’s good to be back home. Somehow, after traveling and being abroad again, as I come back to home country I appreciate it more. Finland is cubby birds nest compared to some more or less unstable countries as Pakistan.”
“It feels good after the 8K project is done and finished. I feel as I was free, free to target and concentrate to something else. That does not mean that I leave climbing, but I want look other options, do other work. I really won’t miss and need the dangers and risks of 8K mountain climbing.”
VEIKKA´S 8000 METERS CLIMBING CV.
“Climbing the 8000ers was as it was my PhD”, Veikka @ YLE interview.
Notable ascents in the Himalayas:
- Mount Everest (8846m), Spring 93 (with oxygen)
- Pik Kommunisma (7495m) and Pik Korsenevskaja (7105m), Spring 93.
- Dhaulagiri (8167m), Autumn 93.
- K2 (8611m) Summer 94, Abruzzi ridge.
- Lhotse (8501m), Spring 95,
- Makalu (8483m), Spring 95, alpine.
- Pik Korsenevskaja (7105m),Pik Kommunisma (7495m) 36 hours up and down, Autumn 95.
- Mount Everest (8846m), Spring 96. Reached 8600 metres.
- Mount Everest (8846m), Spring 97. First Finn to the summit without extra oxygen.
- Broad Peak (8047m), Summer 97. To the false summit.
- Dhaulagiri (8167m), Spring 98. Reached 7500 m.
- Manaslu (8163 m), Spring 99.
- Dhaulagiri (8167m), Spring 99.
- Annapurna (8091 m), 2000. The top wasn´t reached.
- Shishapangma (8046 m), Spring 2001
- Nanga Parbat (8125 m), Spring 2001
- Annapurna (8091 m), 2002. Reached 7300 m.
- Kangchenjunga, spring 2003. Reached 7300m.
- Mount Everest 2004. Universal filming project.
- Cho Oyu and Annapurna, (8210 m, 8091 m) spring 2005
- Kanchenjunga (8586 m) , spring 2006
- Gasherbrum 2 (8035 m), summer 2008
- Gasherbrum 1 (8068 m), summer 2008. Reached 50m from the top
- Broad Peak (8047 m), summer 2008.
- Gasherbrum 1 (8068 m), summer 2009.
Other notable ascents:
- Mount Vinson (5140m) and Mount Shinn, Winter 96. Mount Vinson is the highest peak on Antarctica. “Not the highest, not the most difficult but the coldest”.
- 4 first-time conquests in Antartica, Winter 97. Two of the peaks were previously unnamed. Ascent of Mount Gardner (4587m). One of the peaks was named Mount Sisu
CV courtesy of Häglöfs