Reaching the summit of Everest is a great achievement; getting down safely is even greater. Until 1996 one climber would die out of six, most of the time during their descent. Hugo Rodriguez Barroso proudly waved the Mexican flag on the top of the world on May the 23rd of 1997, at 2:12 p. m. Hugo became at that moment the first athlete in the world to accomplish the huge challenges of long distance swimming and mountain climbing: the solo swim of the English Channel and the summit of Mount Everest, a conqueror of both sea and land. After reaching the summit Hugo faced an unpredicted situation...

Alcanzar la cumbre del Everest es un logro inmenso, bajar de ahi con vida lo es aun mas. De cada seis montanistas que intentan esta cumbre, techo del mundo, uno pierde la vida; las mas de las veces durante el descenso. Hugo Rodriguez Barroso planto orgullosamente la bandera mexicana en la cuspide del coloso el 23 de mayo de 1997 a las 2:12 p. m.; un tanto tarde, en opinion de los puristas. Al iniciar el descenso una serie de eventos lo dejo atrapado a mas de 8,600 metros de altitud. Las radios esparcieron de inmediato la noticia por todos los campamentos en la montana; Hugo falleceria, nadie...