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Austrian Woman Claims Himalayas Climbing Record
BBC NEWS, EUROPE
August 23, 2011: An Austrian has become the first woman to reach all 14 Himalayan summits above 8,000m (26,000 ft) without using bottled oxygen. Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, 40, set the record after conquering the treacherous K2, her husband said. "She is over the moon," he said on Mrs Kaltenbrunner's website.
Mrs Kaltenbrunner, a nurse, is only the third woman to reach all 14 highest summits, but the first two climbers used supplemental oxygen.
"SUMMIT!!! At 6:18pm local time, Gerlinde reached the summit of K2," her husband Ralf Dujmovits said on the climber's website on Tuesday. "Gerlinde is over the moon and can't believe how lucky they were to reach the summit TOGETHER in this fantastic weather, despite the difficult conditions during the ascent," Mr Dujmovits added.
Three other climbers accompanied the Austrian to the top of the 8,611m mountain - the world's second tallest after Mount Everest.
Mrs Kaltenbrunner had previously failed six times to reach the top of K2.
