Kim Chang-ho (climber)
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.
Kim Chang-ho at Everest base camp in April 2013. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | South Korean |
| Born | 15 September 1969 Yecheon Town, South Korea |
| Died | 11 October 2018 (aged 49) Gurja Himal, Nepal |
| Education | University of Seoul |
| Climbing career | |
| Type of climber | Alpine climbing |
| Known for | Fastest ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders without oxygen |
| First ascents | Batura II (7,762m, 2008), Himjung (7140m, 2012) |
| Major ascents | Gangapurna South Face (7,455m, 2016) |
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. 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.
In 2013, he became the first Korean to climb all 14 of the eight-thousanders without using supplemental oxygen; he also set a record for completing the feat in the shortest time at 7 years, 10 months and 6 days. 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.