Adventure Magazine

SURVIVAL

an impossible

task?

Allie Pepper is an Australian

mountaineer who believes the

biggest challenges offer the greatest

rewards. She has reached the

summits of Mount Everest and also

one of the world’s most dangerous

mountains, Annapurna 1. She

has now set what seems like an

impossible task to climb to the true

summits of all 14 of the worlds

8000m peaks without additional

oxygen, in the world's fastest time.

We caught up with her to find out

what makes her tick and what is

behind the challenge.

allie pepper,

takes on

14 of the

worlds

highest

peaks

Images supplied by Allie Pepper

Hi Allie, tell us about yourself?

I am a 47-year-old mountaineer from the Blue

Mountains of Australia. I discovered climbing in 1999

when I signed up to an Outdoor Recreation course

at a local college. I grew up in Australia’s largest

climbing area but had never rock climbed until then.

With a low self-esteem and no clear direction in my

life at the time I found a career that I enjoyed, and I

was naturally good at.

At the start of 2000, I joined a technical

mountaineering course in New Zealand. That course

changed my life as I finally found my passion.

Later that year I finished my Outdoor Leadership

Certificate. I then worked as an assistant guide on an

expedition to Aconcagua in Argentina. It was the first

time I had the taste of high altitude mountaineering,

and I was addicted. I discovered that I was physically

strong in the thin air and had the ability to look after

others, not just myself.

My mountaineering journey took me from the

Southern Alps of New Zealand to the Andes of South

America. After 3 seasons of climbing and guiding in

the Cordillera Blanca of Peru, I decided I was ready

to climb an 8000m mountain. In 2007 I went to Cho

Oyu, in Tibet. My climbing partner suffered frostnip

on his toes during our acclimatisation phase on

the mountain. He stayed at the Base Camp while I

headed to the summit alone - which I managed to

achieve without the use of additional oxygen.

At the time I had dreams to scale all 14 of the 8000m

mountains however, I did not have the financial

means to do so. I chose Everest to climb next

because I believed if I summited Everest, it might

satisfy me enough that I would not need to climb

anymore 8000ers. It took me 3 years to save up for

that goal. In that time, I did not go to altitude or even

put on a pair of crampons. My dream was to summit

without additional oxygen however I was too slow

on the mountain from my time spent at low altitude.

I spent so long saving up for the expedition, I didn’t

want to waste my time and money. I made the summit

using bottled oxygen and did not fulfil my entire goal.

This only made me hunger more for thin air.

I have been on six expeditions to 8000m peaks since

I summited Everest in 2011. Most recently I climbed

Annapurna 1 in April. After climbing Annapurna, I

realised that high altitude is where my spirit is truly

free, and I am exactly where I am meant to be. I feel

I am at home in the mountains, and I am my true

self. I am at a time in my life where I can give full

commitment to my passion. I now have the desire

and motivation to fulfil my dream and ambition which

started in 2007 after my Cho Oyu expedition.

I aim to summit all 14 peaks without the use of

additional oxygen. I have been training physically,

mentally, and spiritually for this project for years

now. I have learned from my successes, and I have

learned from my failures. Most importantly I have

been honest with myself, and I know that I cannot

reach my full potential in my sport without giving this

a go.

Whilst on the journey to complete my project, I aim

to inspire others that they can dream big too and

they are capable of more than they know. It’s never

too late in life to follow your passion and achieve

big things. The biggest challenges offer the greatest

rewards.

"I realised that

high altitude

is where my

spirit is truly

free, and I am

exactly where

I am meant to

be. I feel I am

at home in the

mountains, and

I am my true

self."

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