Oh Eun-sun’s record doubted by Korean Alpine Federation

By Park Si-soo

The nation’s largest climbing association said Thursday that it appeared Oh Eun-sun did not scale Kangchenjunga last year, dealing a major blow to the climber who has been crowned as the first woman to top all of the world’s 14 highest peaks.

Seven senior members of the Korean Alpine Federation, including six climbers who have scaled Kangchenjunga, reached the conclusion after scrutinizing material related to Oh’s climb.

“Seven veteran climbers held marathon talks and reached the conclusion unanimously after thoroughly reviewing photos and other evidence Oh has made public to prove her ascent. This is our official conclusion,” Lee Eui-jae, secretary general of the Korean Alpine Federation, told The Korea Times.

The representative said the federation demanded Oh attend the talks to defend herself, but she refused to do so, citing insufficient preparation. He said the climbers agreed that there was not sufficient data to prove her ascent.

“If she really reached the top, there should have been more photos. But the photos she has made public were not enough to prove her climb,” he said.

He also cited the relatively faster speed of her climbing and conflicting Sherpas’ testimonies as reasons behind their conclusion.

Oh refuted the decision. “That’s their conclusion. I urged the federation to delay the talks until I completed my preparations, but it went ahead regardless,” Oh said. “I will continue to collect evidence to prove the ascent and then ask for review.”

The federation chief did not rule out the possibility of this if Oh submits new evidence. Oh said it will take time to collect sufficient data to completely put an end to the controversy. “After the work is done, I will willingly cooperate with the inquiry,” she said.

The latest setback emerged five days after an investigative SBS TV program reignited a dispute over whether she has scaled all of the world’s 14 highest peaks, calling into question her conquering of Kangchenjunga in May last year.

A series of follow-up news reports fueled the controversy, motivating the federation to take action.

Doubts first came to the surface last December raised by domestic peers which then blew into an international issue when Oh reached the summit of the 8,091-meter Annapurna in April to claim the title of first woman to top the world’s 14 highest peaks, edging out archrival, Edurne Pasaban from Spain.

"오은선, 칸첸중가 등정 못했다"

대한산악연맹이 여성 세계 최초로 히말라야 8000m 14좌를 완등했다고 선언한 산악인 오은선(44)씨의 칸첸중가 등정이 사실이 아닐 가능성이 크다는 결론을 내렸다고 26일 밝혔다. 이에 오씨는 "그들만의 결론"이라며 준비가 되는데로 재심을 요구하겠다고 밝혔다.

연맹은 이날 오후 서울 올림픽공원 내 경기단체 회의실에서 칸첸중가 등정 경험이 있는 국내 산악인 6명을 불러 ‘의혹검증 회의’를 가진 끝에 이같은 의견을 모았다고 전했다.

연맹 측은 “오은선 씨가 지금까지 공개한 칸첸중가 등정 자료를 심도 있게 검토한 결과 정상 등정이라고 보기 어렵다고 결론을 내렸다”고 밝혔다.

이날 회의에는 칸첸중가 등정자인 산악인 박영석(1999년 등정)·엄홍길(2000년)·김웅식(2001년)·한왕용(2002년)·김재수(2009년)·김창호(2010년)씨 등 6명이 참석했다.

당초 7명이 참석할 계획이었으나, 김창호(2010년)씨는 개인사정으로 참석하지 못해 회의 도중 전화를 통해 연맹 측에 의견을 전달했다