Oh Takes on Challenge of 14th Peak Sunday

By Park Si-soo

Staff Reporter

It's South Korea's Oh Eun-sun vs. Spain's Edurne Pasaban ― a historic expedition to become the first woman to conquer the world's 14 highest peaks, over 8,000 meters.

Only one is left for them to make mountaineering history ― the 8,091-meter Annapurna for Oh and the 8,027-meter Shisha Pangma for Pasaban.

This is a winner takes all contest ― the slim gap between being the first female conqueror of the 14 peaks and the runner-up.

And the 44-year-old Korean appears to be ahead of her rival at the moment ― the winner may be crowned as early as Sunday.

Oh arrived at the 6,400-meter high third camp, Friday (KST). She will move forward to the fourth and final camp at 7,200 meters, Saturday, and then attempt the summit Sunday, her agency in Seoul said Friday.

``With mild weather expected to continue there for days, Oh will climb as scheduled,'' Park Eun-joo, spokesman for Black Yak, told The Korea Times.

Oh's rival Pasaban is on her way to her base camp on Mt. Shisha Pangma in Tibet. The 36-year-old Spanish reached the summit of Annapurna on April 17, becoming the first Spanish woman to have 13 of the world's highest peaks under her belt.

``She's exhausted but fine,'' AFP quoted Pasaban's expedition organizer Anjan Rai as saying, adding no date has yet been set for the summit attempt. ``She is already well acclimatized from Annapurna, so she might be able to do it in three weeks. She'll need to rest for a few days. Then she plans to drive to the Tibetan border on April 24.''

The organizer did not elaborate on how much preparation for the last expedition had been made in the report. But sources familiar with the competition say aides of the Spanish climber have already taken all measures necessary for the climb in advance to help her save time.

In an interview, Oh said, ``I had a dream last night. It was about me driving somewhere. I think it's a message from God ― don't be hasty and stay cautious.'' She continued, ``I'm so good. Now the struggle with myself begins.''

The first climber to top all 14 of the world's highest peaks was Reinhold Messner of Italy in 1986. Three male Korean climbers ― Park Young-seok, Eum Hong-gil and Han Wang-yong ― have also achieved the feat.

This is Oh's second attempt to scale Annapurna. Last October, she was forced to give up due to a raging blizzard and thick fog, with its summit just 500 meters away, a distance that takes about two hours to cover.

Born in 1966, Oh majored in engineering at the University of Suwon in Gyeonggi Province.

She first drew attention in 1997 by climbing to the top of the 8,035-meter Gasherbrum II. In 2004, Oh became the first Asian woman to conquer the world's highest peak, the 8,848-meter Mt. Everest.

Between 2008 and 2009, she scaled eight more peaks of over 8,000 meters in the Himalayas ― Makalu (8,463 meters), Lhotes (8,516 meters), Broad Peak (8,047 meters), Manaslu (8,163 meters), Kanchenjunga (8,586 meters), Dhaulagiri (8,167 meters), Nanga Parbat (8,126 meters) and Gasherbrum (8,068 meters).

일요일, 오은선씨 14좌 완등 도전

한국의 오은선씨와 스페인의 에두르네 파사반이 여성최초 히말라야 8,000m 급 14좌 완등을 위한 역사적인 원정이 시작된다. 오은선은 안나프루나(8,091m) 등정만 남기고 있고 파사반은 시샤팡마(8,027m)만 남기고 있다.

오은선은 현재 6,400m 에있는 세 번째 캠프에 있어 사실상 파사반보다 우위에 있지만 안나프루나가 시샤팡마보다 훨씬 난이도가 높은 코스라 우열을 가늠하기에는 변수가 많다.

파사반은 현제 티벳에 있는 시샤팡야산의 베이스 캠프로 이동 중에 있다. 파사반은 세계 제일 높은 산 13개를 등정한 최초여성이라는 타이틀을 갖고 있다.

이 14좌 완 등을 첫 성공한 사람은 1986년 이탈리아의 라인홀트 메스너 이고 한국인으로 썬 박영석, 엄홍길, 한왕용씨가 등정에 성공했었다.