Kim Chang-ho (climber)

Kim Chang-ho
Kim Chang-ho at Everest base camp in April 2013.
Personal information
NationalitySouth Korean
Born(1969-09-15)15 September 1969
Yecheon Town, South Korea
Died11 October 2018 (aged 49)
Gurja Himal, Nepal
EducationUniversity of Seoul
Climbing career
Type of climberAlpine climbing
Known forFastest ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders without oxygen
First ascentsBatura II (7,762m, 2008), Himjung (7140m, 2012)
Major ascentsGangapurna South Face (7,455m, 2016)

Kim Chang-ho (Korean: 김창호; 15 September 1969 – 11 October 2018), was a South Korean mountaineer, and at the time of his death in 2018, was considered to be Korea's most prolific alpine and Himalayan climber, noted for his bold and lightweight alpine style ascents.[1]

In 2012, Kim won the Piolet d'Or "Asia Award" with An Chi-young when they made the first-ever ascent of Himjung (7,092m) in Nepal in 2012 via its southwest face.[2] In 2017, Kim and his two climbing partners were awarded an Honourable Mention for the 2017 Piolet d'Or for their ascent of Gangapurna's south face (7,455m, 2016) in a "bold lightweight alpine style", the first Koreans to receive such a citation.[1][3]

In 2013, he became the first Korean to climb all 14 of the eight-thousanders without using supplemental oxygen;[4] he also set a record for completing the feat in the shortest time at 7 years, 10 months and 6 days.[5][2][4] He was killed on 11 October 2018, alongside several other fellow South Korean climbers and local mountain guides, in Nepal when a snowstorm destroyed their 3,500m-altitude base camp beneath Gurja Himal in the Dhaulagiri.[6]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AA1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Griffin, Lindsay (27 May 2013). "Korean Everest Sea to Summit marred by tragedy". British Mountaineering Council. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference POR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Kwon, Ji-youn (21 May 2013). "Kim scales 14 Himalaya peaks without oxygen tanks". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Nepal storm kills climbers on Himalayan peak Gurja". BBC News Online. 13 October 2018. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  6. ^ Bhadra Sharma; Kai Schultz; Choe Sang-Hun (13 October 2018). "Snowstorm Kills at Least 8 Climbers in Nepal". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.