Karachi: The British Pakistani mountaineer Nadia Azad has called Nepal’s Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth highest peak, only became the Second Pakistani woman who climb four mountains above 8,000 meters.
Azad, who has family roots in Karachi and Baloch Heritage through her father, reached the 8.163 meter top at 5.15 am Nepali-time on 26 September. Manaslu, the “Mountain of the Spirit”, belongs to the elite “8000er” club of 14 peaks of more than 8,000 meters in the Himalayas and Karakoram.
For Nadia, De Klim not only marked another performance, but a return to extreme height after almost two and a half years away. “This top was more than a return, it was a memory of why I climb,” she wrote on Instagram. “The mountain does not matter; he requires respect, patience and humility.”
With Manaslu, Azad contributes to a remarkable mountain climb. In April 2023 she spoke to Annapurna I (8,091m), one of the deadliest peaks. Weeks later she scaled Mount Everest (8,849m) and Lhotse (8,516m) back-to-back, a performance that requires extraordinary effort.
There are only 14 mountains on earth above 8,000 meters, all in the large series of South Asia. Above this height is what they call a ‘death zone’. Azad is now joining a small circle of climbers and an even smaller number of women who have climbed several tops of more than 8,000 m.
She has also completed the seven peaks, with the highest mountain on every continent, including Denali in North America, Aconcagua in South America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Elbrus in Europe, Vinson in Antarctica, and Carstensz Pyramid in Oceania. She became the Second Pakistani woman who achieved this after Samina Baig.
Beyond the mountains, Nadia is also a special marathon runner. She has already completed the New York, Berlin and London marathons and will compete in Chicago next month while working on completing all six Abbott World Marathon Majors.
“I proudly carry the Pakistani flag to the highest mountains in the world, making it at every top that I achieved,” she said in a message to Geo News. “If one of the few women of South Asian descent climb at this level, I want to inspire others to dream outside the observed boundaries and space in arenas where we are rarely seen.”
Whether it is about Himalayan -tops or in large marathons, Nadia Azad continues to push boundaries in two of the most demanding endurance sports. For her, Manaslu was not only conquered a peak, but a memory of goal.
“The quiet moments for sunrise, the rhythm of breathing and ice under the foot, the shared silence on the mountain, that’s why I climb,” she said.
