Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner facts for kids
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner in July 2015
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Born | 13 December 1970 Kirchdorf an der Krems, Austria |
| Occupation | Mountaineer, speaker, trained nurse |
| Climbing career | |
| Known for | First woman to climb the 14 eight-thousanders in alpine style, without supplemental oxygen or porters |
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner (born December 13, 1970) is a famous mountaineer from Austria. In August 2011, she made history by becoming the first woman to climb all fourteen of the world's highest mountains, known as eight-thousanders. What makes her achievement even more amazing is that she did it without using extra oxygen or special helpers called high-altitude porters. In 2012, she was honored with the important National Geographic Explorer of the Year Award.
Contents
Mountaineering Adventures
Becoming a Mountain Climber
Gerlinde loved climbing mountains from a young age. When she was just 13, she was already completing climbs at a local mountain called Sturzhahn. While she was training to be a nurse in Vienna, Austria, she kept practicing her climbing skills. She went on many trips for skiing, ice climbing, and rock climbing.
At 32, Gerlinde climbed her fourth 8,000-meter peak, Nanga Parbat. After this, she decided to become a professional mountain climber full-time.
Conquering the Eight-Thousanders
An "eight-thousander" is a mountain that is over 8,000 meters (about 26,247 feet) high. There are only 14 such mountains in the world. Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner is one of only three women who have climbed all of them.
She is the very first woman to officially reach the top of all fourteen eight-thousanders without using extra oxygen. This is a huge achievement because climbing at such high altitudes without oxygen is extremely difficult and dangerous.
Here are the 14 eight-thousanders Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner has climbed:
- 1998 – Cho Oyu
- 2001 – Makalu
- 2002 – Manaslu
- 2003 – Nanga Parbat
- 2004 – Annapurna I
- 2004 – Gasherbrum I
- 2005 – Shisha Pangma
- 2005 – Gasherbrum II
- 2006 – Kangchenjunga
- 2007 – Broad Peak
- 2008 – Dhaulagiri
- 2009 – Lhotse
- 2010 – Mount Everest
- 2011 – K2
Challenges on K2
Gerlinde had tried to climb K2, one of the world's toughest mountains, six times before. Each time, she had to turn back. On August 6, 2010, she was climbing K2 when a fellow climber, Fredrik Ericsson, had a terrible accident. Gerlinde saw what happened and decided to stop her climb for safety.
She finally succeeded in climbing K2 on August 23, 2011. This was her seventh try on the mountain! National Geographic helped support this amazing expedition and shared the story of her difficult climb up the North Pillar of K2.
Personal Life
In 2007, Gerlinde married her climbing partner, Ralf Dujmovits. They later divorced.
See also
In Spanish: Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner para niños
- List of female adventurers
