Climber Pearl Going has rival for Seven Summits

A Tutukaka woman attempting to become the first New Zealand woman to climb the Seven Summits - and set a speed record in the process - says a Russian rival is jumping on the bandwagon to garner publicity.

Pearl Going, a former publicist, has conquered three peaks in her quest to climb the highest mountains of each of the seven continents in 333 days to set a female speed record for the challenge. But she faces an uphill battle to meet her goal after being injured in a rock fall on Mt Aconcagua and missing an expedition to Everest.

Already, with the help of Cotter's Adventure Consultants, Going has climbed to the summits of Mt Elbrus in Russia, Mt Aconcagua in the Andes and Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

However, Miss Going, 27, has attracted the attention of Russian rival Lyudmila Korobeshko, 37, who is trying to complete seven summits in 300 days.

Going said she was unaware of the Russian climber's bid to race her until reports began surfacing in the media. She understands the Russian's attempt is based on a different list for the seven summits, she said.

Korobeshko was attempting the Bass list of seven summits while she was attempting the Messner list - considered more challenging by mountaineers, Miss Going said.

The Bass list includes the highest mountain of mainland Australia, Mount Kosciuszko (2228m), as the Australian continent's highest summit while the Messner list replaces Mount Kosciuszko with Indonesia's Puncak Jaya, or Carstensz Pyramid (4884m).

"My attempt to climb the seven summits has generated a lot of publicy and she's getting press out of it," Miss Going said of her rival.

The injury sustained on Mt Aconcagua, and the delays it caused, means Going has had to reset her schedule will have to reclimb Mt Elbrus to achieve the speed record.

She is also considering climbing to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko to beat Korobeshko's record attempt for the Bass list.

Next month, she plans to head to Europe to attempt to set a new record for climbing Mt Blanc, the Matterhorn and the Eiger in succession.

In December, she relaunches her Seven Summits bid by heading to Antarctica to tackle Vinson Massif (4892m).

Climbing is a far cry from Going's most recent occupation as a publicist, helping celebrities get into, or stay out of, glossy magazines.

She worked with Miss New Zealand 2010, and has appeared in the social pages of Auckland newspapers.