This was Alex's first expedition to an 8000m peak. Having to continue by himself after Sergiu Matei's retreat due to High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), Alex had to change his plan and went to the summit straight from Camp 2 (7200m), instead of Camp 3 (7600m), summiting on solitary in the late afternoon. While Sergiu waited in the Advanced Base Camp he saved the life of a Tibetan Refugee and filmed the world famous shootings on Nangpa La. At 24, Alex became the youngest Romanian to have summited an 8000m peak. His expedition was featured on February 2007 issue of National Geographic Romania.