Reflecting on his journey into athletics and adventure in a recent interview published on January 30, 2025, Aidan Hyman recalled celebrating his 20th birthday in June 2023 by climbing to the base camp of K2.
Highlights
- Aidan Hyman is a queer athlete who began his athletic journey as a cross-country runner at Buckley High School.
- Hyman completed climbing Mount K2 summit in June 2023, being a younger queer reaching the K2 base camp.
- Aidan Hyman faced a near-death experience on his mountaineering journey.
Aidan Edward Hyman is 22 years old queer social entrepreneur, humanitarian/renewable energy advocate, and athlete from California.
He has gained recognition for his remarkable achievements in mountaineering and endurance sports.
In June 2023, he celebrated his 20th birthday by climbing to the base camp elevation of K2, Pakistan’s world’s second-highest mountain.
In a recent January 30, 2025 interview, Hyman reflected on his journey into athletics and adventures.
Aidan Hyman’s athletic journey began at Buckley High School, where he led the cross-country team as a captain. He ran 2.9 miles in 2018, 3 miles, and 5000 meters in 2019.
Furthermore, he was also on a Varsity Soccer team in high school and ran several marathons. Hyman began his marathon journey at 15, often using the events for charitable causes.
In 2020, Aidan participated in the Los Angeles Marathon, marking one of his early races.
By April 2022, Hyman had completed his sixth marathon with the Boston Marathon. He ran to raise funds for the Boston Children’s Hospital.
His recent marathon participation was on December 2, 2024, in the Amazing Thailand Marathon Bangkok 2024.
Aidan Hyman Recalled One Of His Extreme Journey About His Near-Death Experience In His Journey To Mount K2
In June 2023, Aidan Hyman went to the mount K2 in Pakistan. Being a queer athlete, he succeeded in climbing the world’s second-tallest mountain to plant a Pride flag near its summit.
However, the journey to the summit was not a flowery paved way for him. In his recent interview with The Queerty, Aidan recalled a dangerous situation he faced on the way to K2.
Hymen stated that his team had left him the day before they were supposed to go to base camp as he was sick.
Then, despite their extreme health condition, he continued his journey with the help of porters and Sherpas; Hymen resumed his way to the base camp.
One of the donkeys with them started slipping in the last 30 minutes before he arrived at base camp. Similarly, all of the rocks come tumbling down.
Aidan Hyman explained the situation, stating,
My guide, who is taking me, jumps off his [donkey], and pulls me off, as my donkey starts to slip down the slope going into this river. His whole arm gets cut, and he breaks his finger. It was… so frightening. I’ve never seen an injury like that happen in front of me before.
Aidan Hyman
Furthermore, Aidan explained that it is possible to get caught up in the adventure and not in how dangerous something like that is. He explained,
Had he not pulled me off, I would’ve absolutely fallen off. That changed my perspective, and made me want to try everything.
Aidan Hyman
The accident Hymen got into on his way to K2 base camp disturbed events. However, it did not stop him from exploring new adventures.
After his journey to K2, Aidan Hyman made his journey to Ha Giang Loop, in the northern mountains of Vietnam, hills of Laos, trekking in Nepal, water adventures in Thailand, Indonesia, California, and many more.
On January 30, 2025, his recent post was about his camping with friends on Fort Bragg, the north coast of Califonia, in Mendocino County.
When asked about the message he is trying to send to the youth, Aidan Hyman states,
Life is hard enough as it is. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t follow and pursue your dreams. I also just wanted other queer kids to know there is space, and just go for it, because you’ll never know which allies you’ll find along the way.
Aidan Hyman
Additional Information
- Aidan Hyman is a University of California, Davis senior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Environmental Technology.
- Aidan Hyman was born and grew up in California. He is private about his family details and personal life.
- He was nominated as one of Attitude Magazine’s most influential queer trailblazers of 2024 and is an Athlete for Equality with the Human Rights Campaign.
