Conquering the World's Highest Peaks

mountaineers like a Deern, it's not enough. She wanted to become the first woman to climb all eight thousanders, the world's highest peaks above eight thousand meters. So one down and thirteen more to go. Hey, I'm Tony Armstrong and this is the ballroom where we celebrate the winners, losers and the weird stuff between. Adern Passerbahm was born in nineteen seventy three in the quaint Spanish town of Tolosa, Nestled under a small mountain. It was a fitting birthplace

for a future climber. Adern didn't grow up with ambitions to conquer the world's highest peaks, but she always loved an adventure. At fifteen, she started rock climbing for fun with her cousin, which was her first taste of extreme sports. From there, her teenage years were of overseas troops and daring hikes. Gradually, Adern started to climb higher and higher mountains four thousand meters six thousand meters. She climbed the Alps and the Pyrenees. She scaled the Andes and a

volcano in Ecuador. But when she eventually finished school, a gap year was probably the furthest thing from her mind. Adern jumped straight into university. She studied engineering and began her career working in the family tool making business. Then Adern found her own entrepreneurial streak, establishing a hotel and restaurant in the north of Spain. Outside of work, mountaineering remained her passion, but she was also ready to turn

things up a notch. In nineteen ninety eight, Adern headed to the Himalayas to climb one of the eight thousanders dow Lagiri. She was less than three hundred meter from the summer when she was forced to abandon the climb because of heavy snowfall. It was merely a minor stepback. The next year, Adern turned her attention to Mount Everest. Never won to shy away from a challenge, she decided

to climb without the support of oxygen. And maybe that was a step too far because Adern failed to reach the summer on two separate occasions in ninety nine and two thousand, but she was able to learn from those experiences. In two thousand and one, Adurn successfully conquered Everest alongside three other climbers. It's an achievement that so many mountaineers never reach, and it only motivated Addurn further. She must have felt like she could take on the world, and well,

that's exactly what she decided to do. Fourteen of the world's highest mountains are greater than eight thousand meters above sea level, and their summits are located in what's called the death zone, not a minus at all. At these high altitudes, people can't survive for very long without an additional oxygen supply. But for a Durned Passerbahn, it became a case of if you've climbed one, you've climbed them are. In two thousand and two, a Durn plan to climb

not one, but two mountain peaks. In May, she took on Macarlou and in October to Olu, the fifth and sixth highest mountains, respectively. Feeling unstoppable. The following year, she scaled three more eight thousand ers Lotze in Tibet and the dual peaks Gasherbrum one and two. Incredibly, Adurn continued

at this relentless pace for the next seven years. She only took a year off in six In twenty ten, she knocked off the final two mountains, an A Purna and Shishapangma, in a remarkable feat of human strength and endurance. A Deern had become the first woman in the world to climb all fourteen summits, or had she. It turns out that Adern's incredible achievement was disputed. Another climber was contesting her mountaineering record. The process of verifying whether someone

has in fact climbed a mountain can be difficult. In the world of sport, people sometimes lie and cheat their way to success, and mountain climbing is no different. But unlike organized sports, there's no governing body or ruling authority. For decades now, mountaineering has relied on something called the Himalayan Database, a public record and extensive archive of expeditions

in the region. The database was the work of American journalist Elizabeth Hawley, who lived much of her life in Katmandu. If climbersted Elizabeth's tick of approval, they needed to provide numerous pieces of evidence, including photos. They also had to undergo a rigorous interview process. Elizabeth would speak with their companions on the expedition, like fellow climbers and shirpers and

other eyewitnesses on the mountain. But even with these checks and balances, there are still disputes, and in twenty ten, Adern Pazzerbahan's record was called into question when a Korean climber said that she'd conquered the fourteen peaks first. O Yun Son said she'd completed her final eight thousand a month before Adern in April of twenty ten, But then a Durn hit back disputing ozacent of Kenshenjuga Mountain. In two thousand and nine, Elizabeth Hawley was called in to

settle the matter. She got to work interviewing the parties involved and analyzing all the evidence. Adern claimed that Sherpa's on O's expedition had informed her she hadn't made it to the peak of Kenshenjunga. It was a lengthy investigation. At one point Adern conceded, but eventually the truth was uncovered. It was determined that Oh had in fact stopped a few hundred meters short of the summer due to bad weather.

Seven months after Adern had completed her final assent, she was once again recognized as the first woman to conquer all fourteen of the world's highest mountains. While O's expedition remains on record in the Himalayan database, it will forever be marked as disputed. These days, Adern Passerban is a successful businesswoman, lecturer, and public speaker. She travels the world inspiring others with her courageous and motivational story. I reckon we can all learn a little something from this all

conquering woman. Thanks for hanging out in the pool room. I'm Tony Armstrong and this has been an iHeart production. I'll speak to you next time for another brilliant sports story. Have a good one.