Iñaki Ochoa de Olza

Iñaki Ochoa de Olza (May 29, 1967 in Pamplona, Navarre – May 23, 2008 in Annapurna, Nepal) was a Spanish mountaineer, alpinist and climber. Ochoa de Olza took part in more than thirty separate climbing expeditions in the Himalayas over the course of his career, and he was involved in more than 200 expeditions as a guide. His records included climbing 12 of the world's 14 tallest mountains (repeating one of them, Cho Oyu) without the aid of oxygen or oxygen tanks. Ochoa went on record as saying that he did not believe in using oxygen to climb mountains, claiming "if you use oxygen, you are not an alpinist, you are more of an astronaut or a scuba diver."

Iñaki Ochoa de Olza was born in Pamplona, Navarra, north of Spain, on May 29, 1967. He completed his first climb over 8,000 meters when he ascended to the peak of Kangchenjunga at the age of 22. He also worked as a high altitude guide and cameraman. His most recent achievements included a solo climb on a new route on Shishapangma in 2005.

Aside from sports challenges, Iñaki Ochoa de Olza had another dream he wanted to achieve. He wanted to give back to the people who live in needy countries with mountains over 8,000 m part of what he had received during his life in these places. So, he wanted to raise funds to build an orphanage in Kathmandu, a children's hospital in Pakistan and a school in Dharamsala (home of the Tibetan exile). Unfortunately, he could not see his dream fulfilled because of his death on Annapurna.

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