Who Will Become the First Woman to Climb All 14 8,000-Meter Peaks?

Text by Tetsuhiko Endo

Five months ago, at the start of the high altitude climbing season, the Internet was abuzz with speculation regarding who would become the first woman to summit all 14 of the world’s 8000 meter peaks. Would it be the Austrian Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, the Spaniard Edurne Pasabán, or the Italian Nives Meroi? Each woman entered the season with 11 peaks to her name and it seemed like a sure bet that one would walk away with the title no later than early 2010. The problem was, everyone was so busy picking their ponies, they completely overlooked the dark horse.

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