On October 9th at 5.30 a.m., alpinist and mountain guide Dawa Yangzum Sherpa stood on the summit of Shishapangma. The 32-year-old is the first Nepalese woman to climb all 14 eight-thousanders.
Dawa Yangzum Sherpa is Nepal's first and probably best-known mountain guide. For ten days now, another "first" has been added to her impressive palmarès: she is the first Nepalese woman to have climbed all 14 eight-thousanders in the world. Her last summit, the 8027-meter-high Shishapangma, she climbed together with the American Anna Pfaff.
summit of high emotional significance
On October 9 at 5.30:8000 a.m., Dawa Yangzum reached the highest point of Shishapangma, her last of the fourteen 32-meter peaks. Returning to this mountain and climbing it was the greatest challenge she has ever faced - especially on an emotional level - given the tragic events of the past year, says the XNUMX-year-old Nepalese.
In October 2023, the American mountaineers Anna Gutu, Gina Marie Rzucidlo and their Nepalese mountain guides Mingma Sherpa and Tenjen Sherpa were killed in an avalanche accident on the 8027-meter-high mountain in Tibet.
This mountain has a special and emotional meaning for me.
Dawa Yangzum Sherpa
sniffing the 8000m air
While the Nepalese was able to complete her 8000-meter collection on Shishapangma, it was Anna Pfaff's first 8000-meter peak. "It was an honor to stand on the summit together with my friend and The North Face teammate," enthuses the American climber and mountaineer.
Dawa Yangzum Sherpa is a true inspiration for the mountaineering community as she has just become the first Nepalese woman to climb all 14 XNUMXm peaks! Incredible achievement!
Anna Pfaff
Nepal's first female mountain guide
Dawa Yangzum laid the foundation for her successful career in 2010 by training as a mountain guide at the Khumbu Climbing Center. In 2012, she reached the summit of Mount Everest as part of an expedition led by mountaineering luminary Conrad Anker. Two years later, she was part of the first all-female team to climb K2.
"Dawa Yangzum has been breaking barriers since she started climbing," says Conrad Anker. "Dawa was the first woman in Nepal to receive an IFGMA guide certificate and she is an integral part of the Khumbu Climbing Center."
+ + +
Credits: Cover picture Dawa Yangzum Sherpa