A South Korean climber has reached the top of Annapurna in Nepal and claimed a record for becoming the first woman to scale the world's 14 highest peaks.
Oh Eun-sun was shown live on television planting a South Korean flag on the summit of the mountain.However, there is
still a row over Ms Oh's 2009 ascent of another Himalayan peak, with some disputing whether she reached the top.
She is due to be questioned about that climb on her return from Annapurna. Ms Oh threw her arms up in celebration after crawling on all fours for the final stretch to the summit, the Associated Press news agency reported. Poor weather last weekend prevented Ms Oh from reaching the summit of Annapurna, at 26,545 feet (8,091 metres).
Her nearest rival in the 14-peaks quest, Spanish climber Edurne Pasaban, has expressed scepticism about her claim to have reached the summit of Kangchenjunga in 2009.
Ms Oh has denied all the allegations. Her sponsors called a press conference in December 2009 to reassert her claim to have reached the summit.
All climbers who make an ascent from Nepal report to Elizabeth Hawley, an 86-year-old American based in Kathmandu, whose research is recorded in the Himalayan Database.
They have to answer her questions about the climb they have just undertaken.
She is widely accepted as the arbiter of Himalayan climbs. There is no official body that authenticates claims.
But Ms Hawley has marked Ms Oh's 2009 climb as "disputed" and says that Ms Oh and her Sherpa will have to be questioned again about that ascent when they return from Annapurna.
Ms Oh's ascent of Kangchenjunga remains recognised in the Himalayan Database, so she can claim the record.
If Ms Hawley's further investigations lead her to change the status of the 2009 ascent to "unrecognised" Ms Oh would not be internationally regarded as the first woman to have climbed all 14 8,000ers, as they are known.
AP:27-4-10
Post Title
→Oh Eun-Sun claims female 8000m record
Post URL
→https://national-grid-news.blogspot.com/2010/04/oh-eun-sun-claims-female-8000m-record.html
Visit National-grid-news for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection
