Late Alpinist Wins Posthumous Award

The late mountain climber Ko Mi-young, who died while descending Mount Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas, will posthumously receive the Golden Pikel Award from the Corean (Korean) Alpine Club.

The award since 2005 has been presented by the club to alpinists who show extraordinary pioneering spirit.

Ko climbed 11 mountains in succession from October 2006, including the peaks of four Himalayan mountains rising 8,000 meters or higher this year.

Association secretary-general Park Yeol-joo said, “The late Ko showed a strong spirit of challenge and contributed to the galvanization of sports climbing. The association chose for the prize to remember her.”

The award ceremony will be at the Champs Elysees Center in Seoul’s Gangnam district Tuesday. Her elder sister Mi-ran will receive the award on her behalf.