Tilting At Mountains: Love, Tragedy, and Triumph on the World Highest Peaks

Introduction

On May 17, 2010, a 37-year-old Spaniard named Edurne Pasaban became the first woman to climb all fourteen peaks higher than 8,000 meters. This record-breaking accomplishment put the Basque woman on National Geographics 2010 Adventurers of the Year list. The next year, bothThe AlpinistandOutsidemagazines placed her on their Adventurers of the Year lists, too.

Pasabans accomplishment did not come without controversy: Another woman, Korean climber Oh Eun-Sun, claimed to have completed the peaks a few weeks earlier. Later inquiries revealed that Oh Eun-Sun had failed to summit Kangchenjunga in 2009 and her claim was eventually withdrawn, leaving Edurne as the clear victor. But how did she get there?

Published for the first time in English,Tilting at Mountainstells Edurnes heartfelt and deeply personal story. She details not only how she came to climb the 8,000-meter peaksthe competitive nature of her Basque heritage played a role, as did, admittedly, an interest in handsome climbing guidesbut also how her love for the mountains pulled her from a deep, soul-crushing depression. The book covers her climbs on all the 8,000-meter peaks, some of which were almost cakewalks while others were climbed at great cost, including the loss of close friends.

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