Edurne Pasaban
- First woman to climb 14 mountain peaks of over eight thousand metres
- Businesswoman, consultant, executive coach, and author
- Voted one of the 150 most influential women by NEWSWEEK
- Founder of Edurne Pasaban Mountaineers for the Himalayas, an organization focused on education
Edurne Pasaban is a mountaineer, businesswoman, consultant, and executive coach, who started out as an engineer in the family business. It was her talent for rock climbing, however, that earned her fame, resulting in her becoming the first woman ever to conquer 14 peaks higher than eight thousand meters in height. This feat took her beyond the Basque Country and Pyrenees, seeing her scale the likes of Everest, K2, Dhaulagiri, and Manaslu, amongst others.
Her descent from K2 turned into a nightmare, with Edurne landing up in hospital missing two of her toes. This climb was accompanied by a team from Spain’s national television, TVE.
These days Edurne combines her sporting and business careers. She is a speaker for sports, cultural, and educational organisations. Besides her initial degree in engineering, she has completed a Senior Executive Program and a Masters in Human Resources from the ESADE Business School, Barcelona. She has also achieved a master in Executive Coaching and Management at the IE Business School in Madrid.
The owner of a small rural hotel and restaurant in the Basque Country, Edurne works on consultancy and executive coaching projects in human resources and management. She is also an associate professor at the IE Business School in Madrid. NEWSWEEK has deemed her one of the world’s 150 most influential women.
In 2010, Edurne founded Edurne Pasaban Mountaineers for the Himalayas. The foundation’s aim is to give back to the people of the Himalayas for the aid and friendship they have, over the years, given to mountaineers. The main focus of the foundation is education, as the foundation believes that basic education is the best way of reaching economic, cultural, social, and political progress in that area.
Her life goes beyond what she has learned in the mountains. Her life is a story of personal and professional improvement in which she understood what courage, motivation and nonconformity really mean
Edurne writes about her life and experiences in her book, “Tilting at Mountains: Love, Tragedy, and Triumph on the World’s Highest Peaks”.
Edurne Pasaban – Speaker
As a speaker, Edurne shares her experiences, while at the same time offering a personal analysis applicable to any activities that demand a high level of performance as well as team management.
“Everything I have learned achieving my dreams and overcoming my challenges makes more sense if I can share it with others.” – Edurne Pasaban
Speaking Topics
Spain