Juan Eusebio Oiarzabal Urteaga (born 30 March 1956), commonly known as Juanito Oiarzabal, is a noted Spanish Basque mountaineer. He has written four books on the subject. He was the 6th man to reach all 14 eight-thousander summits, and the third to do so without supplemental oxygen. He was the first person to climb the top three summits twice (Everest + K2 + Kangchenjunga) and the oldest climber to summit Kangchenjunga, at almost 53, until Carlos Fontan did so in 2014, at 75 years old. In 2004, he lost all his toes to frostbite after summiting K2. In 2009, he announced wanting to become the first person in history to reach a "double 14", summiting each 8000er twice. In April 2010 he reached 24 eight-thousanders, after climbing Annapurna, a world record. In 2011 he climbed Lhotse for a second time, which was his 25th eight-thousander. He is second all-time for 8000er ascents behind Nepali climber Phurba Tashi Sherpa, who has 30.

The Himalayas

His success in the Himalayas is well-known, but less well known is that before starting on those ascents he had already accumulated a curriculum which is among the best of Spain. He undertook ascents on all the Spanish mountain masses, on the hardest routes. He even discovered some routes of great relevance. He is highly experienced in climbing the Alps, undertaking climbs for the technical challenges they presented. In other continents, he has climbed in North America, South America and Africa and returning to the Himalayas, it is here that he carries out his expeditions with the greatest ease, which may seem obvious after 35 expeditions over 23 years.

Mountaineering curriculum

Alaska

Argentina

Kenya

Nepal

Pakistan

China

China (autonomous region of Xinjiang)

Greenland

Russia

Awards and distinctions

Books

Juanito Oiarzabal has published four books:

Audiovisual productions