Shishapangma
Shishapangma (left) from mountain flight, Nepal
Elevation	8,013 m (26,289 ft) Ranked 14th
Prominence	2,897 m (9,505 ft)
Listing	Eight-thousander Ultra
Location
Shishapangma Nyalam County, Tibet, China
Range	Jugal/Langtang Himal, Himalayas
Coordinates	28°21′8″N 85°46′47″E / 28.35222°N 85.77972°E / 28.35222; 85.77972Coordinates: 28°21′8″N 85°46′47″E / 28.35222°N 85.77972°E / 28.35222; 85.77972[1]
Climbing
First ascent	2 May 1964 by Xǔ Jìng et al. (Chinese)
Easiest route	snow/ice climb

Shishapangma,^[2][3] also called Gosainthān, is the fourteenth-highest mountain in the world and, at 8,013 m (26,289 ft), the lowest of the eight-thousanders. It was the last 8,000 metre peak to be climbed, due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions on visits by foreigners to the region imposed by Tibetan and Chinese authorities.

Name[link]

There are several different theories about the meaning of the mountain's name. Geologist Toni Hagen, who worked in Nepal for many years, explained the name as meaning a "grassy plain" or "meadow" (pangma) above a "comb" or a "range" (shisha or chisa) in the local Tibetan dialect, thereby signifying the "crest above the grassy plains".^[4][5] On the other hand, Tibetologist Guntram Hazod records a local story that explains the mountain's name in terms of its literal meaning in the Standard Tibetan language: shisha, which means "meat of an animal that died of natural causes"; and sbangma which means "malt dregs left over from brewing beer". According to the story, one year a heavy snowfall killed most of the animals at pasture, and all that the people living near the mountain had to eat was the meat of the dead animals and the malt dregs left over from brewing beer, and so the mountain was named Shisha Pangma (shisha sbangma), signifiying "meat of dead animals and malty dregs".^[6] The Sanskrit name of the mountain, Gosainthan, means "place of the saint" or "Abode of God".^[7]

Geography[link]

Shishapangma is located in south-central Tibet, five kilometres from the border with Nepal. It is the only eight-thousander entirely within Chinese territory. It is also the highest peak in the Jugal Himal which is contiguous with and often considered part of Langtang Himal.^[8] The Jugal/Langtang Himal straddles the Tibet/Nepal border. Since Shishapangma is on the dry north side of the Himalayan crest and further from the lower terrain of Nepal, it has less dramatic vertical relief than most major Himalayan peaks.

Ascents and attempts[link]

Up to 2009, 24 people have died climbing Shishapangma, including Alex Lowe and Dave Bridges (both USA) in 1999, and veteran Portuguese climber Bruno Carvalho. Nevertheless, Shishapangma is one of the easier eight-thousanders to climb. The standard route ascends from the north side, and boasts relatively easy access, with vehicle travel possible to base camp at 5,000 m (16,400 ft). Routes on the steeper southwest face are more technically demanding and involve 2,200 metres (7,218 feet) of ascent on a 50-degree slope.

First ascent[link]

Shishapangma was first climbed via the northwest face and northeast ridge and face ("Northern Route") on 2 May 1964 by a Chinese expedition led by Xǔ Jìng 许竞. In addition to Xǔ Jìng, the summit team consisted of Zhāng Jùnyán 张俊岩, Wang Fuzhou (Wáng Fùzhōu 王富洲), Wū Zōngyuè 邬宗岳, Chén Sān 陈三, Soinam Dorjê (Suǒnán Duōjí 索南多吉), Chéng Tiānliàng 程天亮, Migmar Zhaxi (Mǐmǎ Zháxī 米马扎西), Dorjê (Duōjí 多吉) and Yún Dēng 云登.^[7]

Later ascents and attempts[link]

• 1980 7 May, "Northern Route", (2nd ascent) by Michl Dacher, Wolfgang Schaffert, Gunter Sturm and Fritz Zintl; Sigi Hupfauer and Manfred Sturm (12 May); as part of a German expedition.^[9]
• 1980: 13 October, "Northern Route", (3rd ascent) by Ewald Putz and Egon Obojes, as part of an Austrian expedition.^[10]
• 1981: 30 April, "Northern Route", (4th ascent) by Junko Tabei, Rinzing Phinzo and Gyalbu Jiabu, as part of a Japanese women's expedition.^[10]
• 1981: 28 May, "Northern Route", (5th ascent) by Reinhold Messner and Friedl Mutschlechner, as part of an Austrian expedition.^[10]
• 1982: 28 May, "British Route", southwest face (alpine style), FA by Doug Scott, Alex Macintyre and Roger Baxter-Jones (all UK). Route follows the right-hand couloir on the southwest face.^[9]
• 1987: 18 July, Elsa Ávila and Carlos Carsolio become the first Mexicans to summit Shishapangma. For Ávila, her first eight-thousander and for Carsolio, his second, via the northern face/ridge to the central summit, then along the arete to the main summit, with Wanda Rutkiewicz, Ramiro Navarrete, and Ryszard Warecki.^[10]
• 1987: 18 September, west ridge, FA by Jerzy Kukuczka and Artur Hajzer (both Poland). Kukuczka skied down from near the summit on this his fourteenth eight-thousander.^[10]
• 1987: 19 September, central couloir, north face, FA by Alan Hinkes (UK) and Steve Untch (USA).^[10]
• 1989: Central buttress, southwest face, Andrej Stemfelj and Pavle Kozjek.^[11]
• 1990: Left-hand couloir, southwest face, Wojciech Kurtyka (Poland), Erhard Loretan (Switzerland) and Jean Troillet (Switzerland)^[12]
• 1993: Far-right couloir, southwest face, solo by Krzysztof Wielicki (Poland).^[12]
• 2002: 5 May, "Korean Route" on southwest face, Park Jun Hun and Kang Yeon Ryoung (both South Korea).^[11]
• 2002 26 October: Tomaž Humar(Slovenia), Maxut Zhumauev, Denis Urubko, Alexey Raspopov and Vassily Pivtsov got to the summit. Tomaž Humar climbed last 200 m (80°/50–60°, 200 m) of ascent and descent (65–75°, 700 m)
• 2004: 11 December, Jean-Christophe Lafaille (France) provokes controversy when he climbs the "British Route" on the southwest face, solo, and claims a winter ascent. Since this was not calendar winter, he changes his claim to an ascent "in winter conditions."^[13]
• 2005: 15 January, first (calendar) winter ascent by Piotr Morawski (Poland) and Simone Moro (Italy).^[14]
• 2011: 16–17 April, Ueli Steck (Switzerland) solos the southwest face in 10.5 hours, leaving base camp (5,306m) at 10:30 pm on 16 April and returning to base camp 20 hours later.^[15][16]

Bibliography[link]

• A Photographic record of the Mount Shisha Pangma Scientific Expedition. Science Press Peking 1966.
• Scott, Doug; Alex MacIntyre (2000 (reprint edition); original 1984). Shisha Pangma: The Alpine Style First Ascent of the South-West Face. Seattle, WA, USA: The Mountaineers Books. ISBN 0-89886-723-1. 
• Venables, Stephen; Andy Fanshawe (1996). Himalaya Alpine-Style: The Most Challenging Routes on the Highest Peaks. Seattle, WA, USA: Mountaineers Books. ISBN 0-89886-456-9. 

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shishapangma

• Shisha Pangma on Summitpost
• Shisha Pangma on Peakware
• Shishapangma expedition report with photos

Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar
Born	(1973-08-01) 1 August 1973 (age 38) Tolosa (Gipuzkoa, Spain)
Occupation	Mountaineering.
Website
http://www.edurnepasaban.com

Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar (born August 1, 1973, in Tolosa, Spain) is a Basque Spanish mountaineer, from the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country. On May 17, 2010, she became the 21st person and the first woman to climb all of the fourteen eight-thousander peaks in the World.^[1] Her first 8,000 peak had been achieved 9 years earlier, on May 23, 2001, when she climbed to the summit of Mount Everest.

Race to climb all 14 eight-thousanders[link]

Pasaban summited her ninth eight-thousander, Broad Peak, on July 12, 2007 together with the Austrian climber Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner. On May 1, 2008, Pasaban summited Dhaulagiri, as did Kaltenbrunner the same day again. Both downplayed the aspect of a race between them for the first woman to climb all 14 eight-thousanders. On May 18, 2009, Pasaban climbed the Kangchenjunga with, among others, Juanito Oiarzabal and the Polish climber Kinga Baranowska. With that she exceeded Kaltenbrunner and Nives Meroi and she became the first woman in climbing twelve eight-thousanders.^[2] Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner equaled her two days later when summited Lhotse. Nives Meroi, then tried to achieve the summit in the Kangchenjunga, had to give up when her husband and fellow climber, Romano Benet, had health problems.

On April 17, 2010, she added Annapurna to her record,^[3] and proceeded directly thereafter to climb Shisha Pangma, where she completed her quest on May 17.^[4]

On April 27, 2010 it was announced that Pasaban might have lost out on becoming the first woman to climb all 14 8,000 meter peaks to Korean climber Oh Eun-Sun.^[5] However, Pasaban and other experts disputed Oh's summit of Kangchenjunga.^[6] Following a conversation between Elizabeth Hawley and Pasaban, Hawley announced that Oh's summit would be marked as "disputed" in future editions of her Himalayan database.^[7] On May 3, Oh Eun-Sun had an hour long discussion with Elizabeth Hawley in Kathmandu, in which she asked Oh about the details of her Kangchenjunga climb.^[8] "Oh will be credited for her climb to Kangchenjunga but the ascent will be marked as disputed," Hawley later told the press.^[8] "Her account was completely different from Pasaban's so I really don't know who is right," she added.^[8] Hawley reportedly said the Kangchenjunga entry will be switched back to "successful" if the Spanish team withdraws its allegations.^[9] Rejecting Pasaban's claims, Oh added, "I believe that according to Pasaban, some Sherpas told her that I hadn't climbed Kangchenjunga. But no names of the Sherpas have been mentioned. Why?"^[8] On May 4, 2010 Pasaban mentioned the names of the seven Sherpas involved: "Dawa Ongchu Sherpa, Pema Chiring Sherpa, Chheji Nurbu Sherpa, Dawa Sangge Sherpa, Ong Darchi Sherpa, Cuombi Sherpa and Phurdorchi Sherpa."^[10] She declined to give these names earlier as these Sherpas were still working for the Korean climber. Later Pasaban conceded that she was the second woman to climb the 14 highest peaks, but questioned whether the Korean climber had actually conquered them all.^[11]

However, on August 29, 2010, it was announced that the South Korean Hiking Federation, after examining the proofs presented by Oh, had refused to acknowledge her Kangchenjunga ascension, accepting the sherpas' version according to which Oh was not able to complete the ascension due to bad weather conditions.^{[12] [13] [14]} Oh Eun-Sun later admitted that she had to stop a few meters below the Kangchenjunga summit, and therefore the renowned mountaineering site ExplorersWeb considered on December 10, 2010 that Edurne Pasaban is the first woman that has climbed all fourteen peaks.^[1] This would settle down the polemic in favour of Pasaban.^[15]

Other women attempting to climb all 8,000 meter peaks include Nives Meroi from Italy.

Eight-thousanders climbed[link]

• 2010, May 17 - Shisha Pangma
• 2010, April 17 - Annapurna
• 2009, May 18 - Kangchenjunga
• 2008, October 5 - Manaslu
• 2008, May 1 - Dhaulagiri
• 2007, July 12 - Broad Peak
• 2005, July 20 - Nanga Parbat
• 2004, July 26 - K2
• 2003, July 26 - Gasherbrum I
• 2003, July 19 - Gasherbrum II
• 2003, May 26 - Lhotse
• 2002, October 5 - Cho Oyu
• 2002, May 16 - Makalu
• 2001, May 23 - Mount Everest

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} ExWeb Oh Eun-Sun report, final: Edurne Pasaban takes the throne, ExplorersWeb, Dec 10, 2010
2. ^ Top-5 women to reach more eight-thousanders, with dates
3. ^ "Annapurna summit push watch: SUMMITS!". Explorersweb. 2010-04-17. http://explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=19261. Retrieved 2010-08-31. 
4. ^ "Shisha Pangma: Edurne Pasaban summits - completes the 14x8000ers". Explorersweb. 2010-05-17. http://explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=19361. Retrieved 2010-08-31. 
5. ^ Stephen Mulvey (2010-04-27). "Is Korean Oh Eun-sun first woman to climb 14 top peaks?". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8646995.stm. Retrieved 2010-08-31. 
6. ^ Spanish TV, Photo of Oh Eun-Sun at Kangchenjunga, which has created serious doubts (Spanish)
7. ^ "Korean woman climber's Himalayan record challenged". BBC News. 2010-04-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8638718.stm. 
8. ^ ^{a b c d} Sophia Tamot (AFP) "S.Korean climber defends claim to 14-peak record" May 3, 2010 Retrieved on 2010-05-12.
9. ^ Chosun Daily "Mountaineer Oh Eun-sun Meets Arbiter of Himalaya Ascents" May 4, 2010 Retrieved on 2010-05-15.
10. ^ Pasaban da los nombres de los sherpas que dicen que Miss Oh no hizo cumbre (Spanish)
11. ^ "Spanish climber concedes she is second woman to climb world's 14 highest peaks", Telegraph.co.uk 23 May 2010 Retrieved on 27 May 2010
12. ^ "First woman to climb world's highest peaks stripped of title". The Telegraph (Telegraph.co.uk). 2010-08-27. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/southkorea/7967960/First-woman-to-climb-worlds-highest-peaks-stripped-of-title.html. Retrieved 2011-05-14. 
13. ^ "S.Korea rejects woman's world-record climbing claim". channelnewsasia.com. 2010-08-27. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1077490/1/.html. Retrieved 2011-05-14. 
14. ^ "Pasaban se acerca a su cumbre más difícil". Eurosport (Yahoo). 2010-08-29. http://es.eurosport.yahoo.com/29082010/47/pasaban-acerca-cumbre-mas-dificil.html. Retrieved 2010-08-31.  (Spanish)
15. ^ Ángel Cruz (2010-08-31). "La notaria del Himalaya corona a Edurne Pasaban". As. http://www.as.com/mas-deporte/articulo/notaria-himalaya-corona-edurne-pasaban/dasmas/20100831dasdaimas_1/Tes. Retrieved 2010-08-31. (Spanish)

External links[link]

• Edurne Pasaban's Website (in Spanish)
• Edurne Pasaban's Twitter
• All her 8000 summits. Video information and pics.
• Edurne Pasaban's DESAFIO-14x8000m at Facebook
• Edurne's expedition sponsored by ENDESA (in Spanish)
• Diary of the Kangchenjunga & Shisha Pangma expeditions (in Spanish)

Iñaki Ochoa de Olza (May 29, 1967 Pamplona, Spain – May 23, 2008 Annapurna, Nepal) was a Spanish mountaineer, alpinist and climber. Ochoa de Olza took part in more than thirty separate climbing expeditions in the Himalayas over the course of his career, and he was involved in more than 200 expeditions as a guide.^[1] His records included climbing 12 of the world's 14 tallest mountains (repeating one of them, Cho Oyu)^[2] without the aid of oxygen or oxygen tanks.^[3] Ochoa went on record as saying that he did not believe in using oxygen to climb mountains, claiming "if you use oxygen, you are not an alpinist, you are more of an astronaut or a scuba diver."^[1]

Iñaki Ochoa de Olza was born in Pamplona, Spain, on May 29, 1967.^[1] He completed his first climb over 8,000 meters when he ascended to the peak of Kangchenjunga at the age of 22.^[1] He also worked as a high altitude guide and cameraman.^[1] His most recent achievements included a solo climb on a new route on Shishapangma in 2005.^[1]

Aside from sports challenges, Iñaki Ochoa de Olza had another dream he wanted to achieve. He wanted to give back to the people who live in needy countries with mountains over 8,000 m part of what he had received during his life in these places. So, he wanted to raise funds to build an orphanage in Khatmandu, a children's hospital in Pakistan and a school in Dharamsala (home of the Tibetan exile). Unfortunately, he could not see his dream fulfilled because of his death on Annapurna.

However, his goal of helping needy children continues today, through the Foundation Iñaki Ochoa de Olza - SOS HIMALAYA (www.soshimalaya.org).^[4] That is the legacy of Iñaki.

In recognition of his sporting career he was awarded with the Gold Medal of Sports Merit of the Government of Navarre, his homeland. All the alpinists who contributed and took part in his rescue received the award as well.

Death[link]

Ochoa de Olza died in 2008 while attempting to climb the 8,091-metre (26,545 ft) Nepalese mountain, Annapurna.^[3] Ochoa was trying to climb to the peak of Annapurna with his climbing partner, Romanian alpinist Horia Colibăşanu.^[1] They were forced to halt their climb near the summit of the mountain because of dangerous weather conditions at the peak.^[1] Ochoa had also suffered severe frostbite to his hands, which also forced the duo to halt the climb.^[3] Upon their descent back down the mountain, Ochoa collapsed and suffered a seizure near Annapurna's Camp 4.^[1][3] He and his partner were unable to descend any further due to Ochoa's sudden illness and incapacitation.^[3] Ochoa suffered from lung and brain damage due to the seizure.^[1] His condition was further complicated by pulmonary edema.^[1]

Attempts were made to save Ochoa's life. Swiss climber Ueli Steck, who had abandoned his own attempt with Simon Anthamatten to climb Annapurna's south face due to avalanche threat the previous week, climbed to Ochoa's position to administer emergency medical aid.^[1][3] Doctors from the Hospital of Navarre also tried to help Ochoa remotely from Spain.^[1] However, heavy snow conditions and the high altitude made all rescue attempts impossible.^[1] (Rescues above 7400 metres are usually impossible because helicopters cannot fly that high and few people are able to handle the altitude.)^[3] Steck and Colibasanu were left to administer first aid to Ochoa.^[1]

Iñaki Ochoa de Olza died on May 23, 2008, at 6:45 a.m. GMT in an emergency tent on Annapurna, where he had been trapped in a semiconscious and immobile state for five days.^[1][3] He died from a suspected pulmonary edema, as well as a brain lesion, according to the Spanish newspaper, Diario de Navarra.^[3] His body still remains there, at 7,400 meters in the Annapurna, because of his family desire.

He was almost 41 years old.

Notable ascents[link]

Annapurna

1. Cho Oyu (8,201 m): in 1993.
2. Gasherbrum I (8,068 m): in 1996.
3. Gasherbrum II (8,035 m): in 1996.
4. Lhotse (8,516 m): in 1999.
5. Mount Everest (8,848 m): in 2001.
6. Nanga Parbat (8,125 m): in 2003.
7. Broad Peak (8,046 m): in 2003.
8. Makalu (8,463 m): in 2004.
9. K2 (8,611 m): in 2004.
10. Manaslu (8,163 m): in 2006.
11. Shisha Pangma (8,027 m): in 2006.
12. Dhaulagiri (8,167 m): in 2007.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Iñaki Ochoa de Olza Tribute