Champion Climber Remembers Fallen Colleague

Oh Eun-sun, the first female mountaineer to conquer 13 of the world`s 14 peaks measuring 8,000 meters or higher, returned to Korea Wednesday after scaling Gasherbrum-I (8,068 meters) in the Himalayas.

Oh, 43, said she had mixed feelings in this trip. She conquered Nanga Parbat (8,125 meters) July 10, but then heard of the death of fellow mountaineer Ko Mi-young.

When Oh heard Ko`s name, she choked up and said sobbingly, “I`m sorry. She was a nice friend and I learned a lot from her.”

What challenged Oh in her quest to conquer Gasherbrum-I was neither the stormy weather nor the rough terrain. Sobbing again, she said, “I shouldn’t have seen (Ko`s) picture sliding down. Every time I climbed the mountain, I couldn’t stop thinking of the picture. I prayed for her and I asked her for help.”

“When I reached the peak, I was happy but I couldn’t be happy. I just wanted to go home and eat my mom’s cooking. It was a different feeling this time from what I felt before.”

In Korea, Oh will visit Buan in North Jeolla Province to visit Ko’s tomb. She will then rest before taking on the final peak of Annapurna (8,901 meters) early next month.

creating@donga.com