The Niemeyer Center auditorium is already practically empty. There are only a few people left who want to take advantage of the presence of Edurne Pasabán (Tolosa, 1973) to take a photo with her. It is not for less. The Basque mountaineer was the first woman to summit all fourteen eight-thousanders on the planet. Added to this is her degree in industrial technical engineering and her role as a businesswoman. All of this gives this woman a more than ideal profile to give lectures on motivation, with which she, through her own experience in the mountains, tries to help companies achieve their goals.
–What are you doing in Avilés?
–I came to be with the ArcelorMittal team. Today they brought together all the managers to start the year and present the objectives for 2024 and also further into the future. Arcelor is in a very big change process, which involves decarbonization. What does this have to do with me? They have short and long-term challenges and objectives and they have called me to talk to them about how to achieve those objectives, which in my case was to climb the eight thousand. Although at first glance it may seem unrelated, it does. They have some big challenges and I have tried to give them the keys that have led me to be successful and helped me achieve what I set out to do.
–What is easier, decarbonization or going up eight thousand?
–All things are complicated, but nothing is achieved without a team and that is what we have been talking about today. I would never have achieved the goals I have set for myself without knowing how to work as a team, without the professionals and the good people I had around me. I have talked to them about the importance of people, which is one of the things that this company values greatly, and that with this you can achieve whatever you want.
–The great key to growth, as he explains, is job as a team, both for their sporting goals and for business objectives. Are there any more?
–You have to be ambitious in this life, in the good sense of the word. I have told you about the desire to improve, because to climb fourteen eight thousand meter mountains I made twenty-six expeditions in ten years. We must know that when things don’t go our way we have to have the ability to learn. Here we have discussed topics such as believing, trusting in them, that they are capable of achieving what they set out to do. If I didn’t believe that I was capable of achieving the fourteen eight thousand at some point I would have thrown in the towel. That self-confidence is key. Furthermore, it must be clear that all people within the company have a role and it is important and essential for everything to happen.
–You are an example of this improvement, since despite failing in some expedition you did not stop trying.
–Those times when you haven’t uploaded you have to know how to be self-critical. Look in the mirror and ask yourself why you haven’t achieved it. Many times you may not be able to do it because there are external means that we do not control, such as the weather or the economic situation. But what we control is that self-criticism of improving, of understanding why you didn’t achieve it. Realize what it costs us; the real learning is there.
–What is that process of realizing one’s own mistakes like?
–It is linked to the passion for the things you do and, even if you have not achieved it, wanting to keep trying. When we don’t achieve something, if one is honest with oneself and self-criticizes, he already knows why he hasn’t achieved it. It could be because you haven’t put in enough hours or you haven’t trained enough. When you see that you always want to improve. That’s what will make you grow, whether it’s for climbing or something else in life.
–When reading your resume, it is striking that you have managed to shine in worlds that are normally associated with men, such as engineering or the mountains.
–I have always been in places where I was surrounded by men and, in fact, when I got on stage almost all of them were men. I’ve never had any problems. The mountains never understood sex. As long as you go up, no one asks you if you are a man or a woman. I have always had very good company, the teams have respected me. Showing up at a base camp at 24 years old as an aunt and everyone twice or triple your age and having a lot of experience is difficult, but it helps to create confidence and for them to believe in you. We must also open the way.
–Did you think it was going to go so well?
-No. In 2001, when I summited my first eight-thousand, I didn’t think I was going to do all fourteen.
–How is that path created until reaching fourteen?
–It was a life process, stories that happen at every moment. Until the seventh eight thousand I had never thought about doing them all. It was logical, because you saw it very far away and at that time there was almost no one who had achieved it. I didn’t see it feasible. With the seventh I started to think about looking for sponsorships so I could achieve it.
–What challenges do you have for the future?
–My challenge was to find a balance in something that I was as passionate about as the mountains. I dedicate a lot of time to training and giving lectures in companies and it is something that I like. It’s not the same adrenaline as climbing mountains, but I like it. Furthermore, I have a six-year-old son; Priorities change and I see risk differently. Now I want to continue doing this and escape, as I can more and more, to the Himalayas to do things that are not as big as before but that still have fun for me.
2024-01-12 08:29:28
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