Spaniard becomes second woman to achieve 14-peak feat

Spanish climber Edurne Pasaban today became the second woman to scale all the world's peaks of over 8,000 metres, just weeks after South Korean rival Oh Eun-Sun pipped her to the world record, her team said.

Pasaban, 36, reached the top of the 8,027-metre (26,489-foot) Shisha Pangma, situated in China's Tibet region, at around 11:30 am local time, the team said on its web site.

It was her 14th ascent of a mountain of over 8,000 metres, and came one month after conquering another Himalayan peak, Annapurna.

She had hoped to become the first woman to scale all the world's so-called eight-thousanders.

But on April 27 Oh Eun-Sun beat her to the world record when she climbed the 8,091-metre Annapurna.

However the Korean's record has been shrouded in controversy after Pasaban and other mountaineers voiced doubts over her claim to have reached the top of Mount Kanchenjunga in 2009.

Oh reiterated her claim last week, saying it has also been backed by legendary mountaineer Reinhold Messner.

The Italian climber became the first man to achieve the 14-peak feat in 1986.