João Garcia, Portuguese mountaineer
João José Silva Abranches Garcia, (born June 11, 1967, in Lisbon, Portugal) is a leading mountaineer in Portugal. His main professional activities are as organizer and guide in mountaineering expeditions. On May 18, 1999, he became the first Portuguese man to reach the summit of Mount Everest, without the use of supplementary oxygen. Three years later, in 2002, he published a book, A Mais Alta Solidão (The Highest Loneliness), in which he describes his experiences in mountain climbing, namely his 1999 expedition to Everest, where he endured bitter adversities. Nevertheless, João Garcia continued to climb and on the 17th April 2010, he summited Annapurna without the aid of supplemental oxygen, becoming the 10th man of all time to climb all 14 eight-thousanders without bottled oxygen or Sherpas.