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This queer athlete celebrated turning 20 by flying a Pride flag on the 2nd-highest mountain on Earth
Aidan Hyman says he completed his odyssey to K2 to inspire other gay athletes and mountain climbers.
Aidan Hyman celebrated his 20th birthday in unprecedented fashion. The queer extreme athlete climbed the second-highest mountain on earth; and when he reached the elevation of the base camp, stuck down a rainbow flag to represent the LGBTQ+ community.
Those feats certainly beat trying to sneak into bars, or however else most 20-year-old Americans ring in their new decade.
“I certainly felt like it was a testament to how far I’ve grown as person that I wanted to be unapologetically myself,” Hyman told Outsports in a recent interview.
The University of California Davis student started his odyssey in mid-June, when he joined a mountaineering expedition in Pakistan with the goal of reaching the base camp of K2. With its elevation raising to 8,251 feet, it only trails Mount Everest in terms of stature.
Along the way, Hyman noticed most of his fellow thrill-seekers were straight men. That fact only made him flaunt his queer identity even more, despite being in Pakistan, which has a rash of anti-gay laws.
Though few of Hyman’s team members had much experience with LGBTQ+ people, he says they were curious about his life and perspective. “I didn’t realize how open minded our generation is,” he said.
When Hyman reached the elevation of the base camp of K2 in early July, he was elated.
“This two-week 100+ mile trek through scorching deserts, freezing glaciers, treacherous mountain terrain, cliff faces, and across roaring rivers pushed me to my mental and physical limits. The mountains are humbling,” he posted on Instagram. “I want to thank my new friends. It takes true strength of character to fly across the entire world to climb to the second-tallest mountain with a bunch of strangers. I will cherish our memories my entire life.”
Hyman was inspired to climb K2 when he learned about Lucy Westlake, another college student who was making the same journey. After connecting with her, he decided to take on the challenge.
The dearth of representation among extreme athletes only further fueled his desire.
“As I was reading more about it, I realized like only 3% of professional mountaineers are queer which is not enough,” he told UC Davis’ student newspaper, The Aggie. “So I was doing more research, and I was like, ‘Wow, I’m gonna be like one of the youngest, like the youngest queer mountaineer to get to base camp.’”
It wasn’t an easy trek. After landing in Pakistan, Hyman and his team drove eight hours through the desert toward the Karakorum Mountains before beginning a 100-mile hike just to reach K2.
The mountain itself is one of the most deadly on earth.
But Hyman was determined. An experienced marathoner and triathlete, he was eager to put his body and mind to the test.
He also wanted to inspire other queer athletes. Hyman partnered with the Human Rights Campaign for his climb, raising money for the advocacy group’s Youth Well-being program.
“This is an experience for myself, but at the same time, I was kind of like, ‘Why don’t I use this leverage to promote an organization that’s actually making meaningful change?,'” he said. “I hope I can inspire others to kind of see a space for them in the world of climbing.”
Once Hyman started ascending up K2, he found himself running out of breath every half hour. He also started running a fever and feeling sick.
But even that didn’t deter him. He told Outsports he completed 12 miles of climbing in about 13 hours.
“I definitely would rather run a marathon than do the trekking that we did. The mountain is definitely humbling, no matter how athletic or fit you think you are,” he said.
While Hyman couldn’t reach K2’s highest elevation, thanks to his illness and a giant landslide, he still climbed to the exact elevation of the base camp.
That meant it was time to show off his rainbow flag.
When Hyman rang in his 20th birthday at the start of the trial, a wide array of folks, including two Russians, joined the festivities. He celebrated Pride along the way, no matter how treacherous his journey became.
At the pinnacle of his climb, Hyman unfurled his rainbow flag with joy.
“It was just surreal. I just felt that since Stonewall, we’ve already made so much progress, and here I am in an Islamic country holding a Pride flag at one of the pinnacles of the climbing world. It was a crazy feeling and it felt way bigger than myself,” he said.
A rising junior, Hyman has already left an indelible mark of LGBTQ+ Pride in one of the most wondrous places on earth. We can’t wait to see where his adventures lead him next.
Scroll down for more pics of Hyman excelling athletically and aesthetically…
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