Record climber calls it a day at 64

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - For more than 30 years Oscar Cadiach risked life and limb to conquer some of the world's most unforgiving terrain, driven by a desire to join the ranks of mountain climbing's elite.

Now aged 64, the Spaniard will finally retire after summiting the world's 14 tallest mountains without bottled oxygen, with his undisputed ascents set to propel him into the record books as the oldest mountaineer to complete a feat achieved by just a handful of others before him.

The quest saw him narrowly avoid plunging to his death. But in July, after three consecutive failed attempts, the Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed he had topped Pakistan's Broad Peak - and, some 33 years after he began, he was done.