Korean woman mountaineer Oh Eun-sun moved a peak closer to becoming the first woman to summit all 14 of the 8,000-meter peaks. On August 3, after climbing 12 hours from Camp 3, she, along with a strong Korean team and a Spanish team, reached the summit of 8,068-meter Gasherbrum I just after 1 p.m. One of the Spanish climbers was 70-year-old Carlos Soria, who has now ascended all of the 8,000-meter peaks in Pakistan.
With her ascent, the 43-year-old Oh Eun-son has climbed 13 of the world’s highest mountains, with only dangerous Annapurna remaining on her list. Her first one was Gasherbrum II in 1997. This year she impressively cranked four 8,000-meter peaks—Kangchenjunga, Dhaulagiri, Nanga Parbat, and Gasherbrum I.
Oh Eun-son had been having a friendly competition with her good friend Go Mi-sun, who was killed on July 11 after falling from the summit ridge of Nanga Parbat after having reached its top for her eleventh 8,000-meter summit. After Mi-sun’s death, Eun-son took time off from climbing to mourn the death of her friend. Now she is trying to decide whether to attempt Annapurna, the 10th highest mountain in the world, this autumn or next spring.
What she decides will undoubtedly be influenced by the success of Austrian climber Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, who is currently tackling K2, the second highest mountain in the world. If Kaltenbrunner is successful, she too will have also climbed 13 of the peaks, setting up a showdown with Oh Eun-son. On August 4, however, Kaltenbrunner descended from 8,200 meters after heavy snowfall. It’s unclear if she will attempt it again this season. Her last peak is Mount Everest, which probably can’t be climbed until next spring.
The tactics of the Korean climbers and their teams have been criticized by many climbers as a sort of win-at-all-costs mentality. This year both Oh Eun-son and Go Mi-sun climbed four 8,000-meter peaks each, an astonishing feat for anyone. But to climb these peaks quickly Oh has been making fast transitions between peaks, using helicopters to transfer climbers from one base camp to another as well as using strong teams of male climbers to prepare routes up the mountains and establish upper camps so all the climber has to do is follow the leader. It is debateable if this is climbing by fair means or not, but it seems they have won-lined pockets and are intent on winning the grand prize.
Photograph above: Oh Eun-son is one peak away from the magic 14 highest peaks on earth. In 1984 Reinhold Messner was the first human to climb all the 8,000-meter summits. Photograph courtesy 7Summits.com
Comments
Given the potential rewards of this particular endeavor, we shouldn’t be surprised that there are those who choose to abandon any unwritten code between climbers, designed to keep the dignity of the sport intact. Now, it’s a race. Why we climb is personal, and not for me to judge, in others. It’s up to each of us to decide what determines our own success.
I have no respect what so ever for the ethics used by the koreans to move up this blow up doll the mountains. Its a shame that some one like Gerlinde who has worked so hard to make all 14 by fair means will “lose” the race to this Korean carton.
Then one has to question this whole “race” it is a real race or is it a race created by media and bystanders? What can they possibly be racing about? And at what price? Gerlinde has turned back several times making excellent judgment calls but more important she has put in the effort her self with her partners with out risking the lives of others.
The korenan blow up doll has as mentioned had an virtual army of sherpas and support climbers stocking camps, supplying O2, pushing and pulling the doll up. Is this an effort worthy any attention or recognition? After all the only thing she is doing is molesting trade routes on mountains climbed my crippled climbers, Old climbers, young climbers, father and son teams, mother and daughter teams the list is endless.
I don’t think regulation is the answer but some kind of code of ethics and style should be followed if one wants the bragging rights. If not there will be no end to the stupidity we have to watch when we and I refer to my self are trying real routes sharing BC with this “posers” to quote Twight.