Italy’s Reinhold Messner became the first person to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000-plus-meter peaks back in 1986, and has since been renowned as one of the world’s best (if not the best) mountaineers. A quarter century later, two climbers, Edurne Pasaban (above) and Oh Eun-sun, are vying to become the first woman to do the same.

Pasaban, of Spain, conquered the 8,091-meter Annapurna last Saturday, and has already left for Tibet to make her way up her final peak, the 8,027-meter Shishapangma.

Meanwhile rival Eun-sun of Korea is already on the slopes of her final challenge, Annapurna, where she is currently acclimatizing at Base Camp Two. Stay tuned this Saturday, April 24, when she makes what could become an historic bid for the top.

In a new twist, rumors are flying that Eun-sun did not actually reach the top of Kangchenjunga (the world’s third-highest mountain) last year in the absence of a summit photo, adding a dimension to the final days of this decade-long race that has left the world on edge to see what transpires this weekend.

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