Korean Alpinist Go Mi-sun Dies After Fall on Nanga Parbat

Back on June 30 I reported here about South Korean mountaineers Go Mi-sun and Kim Jae-soo, who became the first climbers to summit three 8,000-meter peaks in a single season when they climbed Makalu, Kangchenjunga, and Dhaulagiri in six weeks.

To top this amazing accomplishment, the pair headed to Pakistan’s Karakoram range to climb Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, and Nanga Parbat, three of the other fourteen 8,000-meter peaks. After climbing these six peaks, Go Mi-sun would have only to scale Annapurna to become the first woman to summit all of the 8,000-meter peaks.

Unfortunately on Saturday, July 11, 41-year-old Go Mi-sun, after reaching the top of 26,658-foot (8,125-meter) Nanga Parbat, fell off a cliff on the descent in bad weather at 10:30 p.m. An expedition member told the Korean Times, “It happened on her way back to the base camp after conquering the mountain. We saw her fall from a cliff located at 6,200 meters.” She was missing for five hours before her body was spotted by team mates about 3,000 feet below the place where she fell.

I first heard late Friday evening that Go Mi-sun had reached Nanga Parbat’s summit when Ali Muhammad Saltoro Baltistan, a climber from Islamabad, Pakistan, reported on his Facebook page: “Go Mi-Sun also reached the summit of Nanga Parbat earlier today, but had to use supplemental oxygen to do so. Miss Go has generally climbed without the O's, but perhaps her ambitious climbing schedule is getting the best of her. After resting, she'll move on to the Gasherbrums to have a go at both G1 and G2 in her bid for a second 8000m Triple Header this year.”

Then yesterday Ang Karma Sherpa let me know he had just filed a report about the incident on EverestNews.com. Information coming from Pakistan was, however, very sketchy yesterday about what happened so I was unsure if Go Mi-Sun, who is simply an amazing alpinist and rock climber, was indeed dead.

Before she became a high-altitude mountaineer a few years ago, Mi-sun was the best woman rock climber in Asia. She regularly cranked hard routes and usually won climbing competitions like the Asian X-Games. I photographed her 10 years ago at the X-Games in San Francisco where she competed in bouldering. While she didn't medal, she climbed with skill and grace.

Sonia Knapp, an American climber who lived in South Korea, recently wrote me: “Mi-sun (aka Mi-young) is quite a good friend of mine. She was the #1 female (sport) climber in Asia when I was there '98-00 (though I believe she reigned almost 7 years). Her personal story could make a movie, and she is one of the most remarkable (yet truly humble) people I've ever met!"

Go Mi-sun’s death is another tragic loss to the climbing world this year. I was looking forward to hearing more of her amazing accomplishments this year, like climbing the three Karakoram peaks this summer and then finishing off the top fourteen by climbing Annapurna in the autumn. She’ll be missed. I send condolences to her elderly parents and six siblings in South Korea.

Read more about Go Mi-sun at K2Climb.net.

Photograph top: Go Mi-sun meets Saad Tariq Siddiqi, the Secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, last year. Photograph courtesy Alpine Club of Pakistan. Photograph bottom: Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain in the world. Photograph © Stewart Green Stockshots