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After meeting the challenge of scaling all 14 8000ers, Edurne Pasaban looked happy and emotional during a press conference given on Wednesday following her arrival at Barajas airport in Madrid. Pasaban appeared before press in the airport''s Terminal 1 building.

In a faint voice, Tolosa-born Pasaban began by thanking all her sponsors and friends for the support they have offered her from the beginning: "The best thing has been the people who have accompanied me along the way; without them I wouldn''t have managed it."

"I started to enjoy it about five minutes ago when I saw the video you put on," she said, when asked at what point she had started to enjoy her success.

"The worst and most difficult part was K2 because of the severe frostbite I suffered and how hard it was to climb; the best experience was Cho-Oyu, in 2002, when I still wasn''t even thinking about scaling the 14 8000ers," she went on.

When one journalist talked about what was being said while she was far away and focused on her challenge, Pasaban''s response was: "We talk a lot about people without knowing them, as people we''re a bit bad in the way".

Oh Eun Sun

Pasaban responded jokingly to questions regarding Oh Eun Sun saying "I thought you''d never ask.

"She managed to climb all 14 a few days before us which makes her the first woman to do so and for that I congratulate her. I have already helped Elizabeth Hawley (who officially recognizes all Himalayan ascents) by sending my photos of each of the peaks and I know she has asked the same of Miss Oh as proof of all her climbs".

The future

"I''m considering Everest without oxygen, maybe for next year; but now, like everybody I think, I want to enjoy my holidays," were the mountaineer''s final words to press.