British Pakistani alpinist Nadia Azad summits Nepal’s Manaslu

KARACHI: British Pakistani mountaineer Nadia Azad has summited Nepal’s Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest peak, becoming only the second Pakistani woman to climb four mountains above 8,000 metres.

Azad, who has family roots in Karachi and Baloch heritage through her father, reached the 8,163-metre summit at 5:15am Nepali time on 26 September. Manaslu, the “mountain of the spirit”, belongs to the elite “8000er” club of 14 peaks over 8,000 metres in the Himalayas and Karakoram.

For Nadia, the climb marked not just another achievement, but a return to extreme altitude after nearly two and a half years away. “This summit was more than a return, it was a reminder of why I climb,” she wrote on Instagram. “The mountain doesn’t hand out summits; it demands respect, patience, and humility.”

With Manaslu, Azad adds to a remarkable mountaineering resume. In April 2023, she summited Annapurna I (8,091m), one of the deadliest peaks. Weeks later, she scaled Mount Everest (8,849m) and Lhotse (8,516m) back-to-back, an accomplishment that requires extraordinary effort.

There are only 14 mountains on Earth above 8,000 metres, all of them in South Asia’s great ranges. Above this altitude lies what they call a “death zone,”. Azad now joins a small circle of climbers, and an even smaller number of women, who have climbed multiple peaks of over 8,000m.

She has also completed the Seven Summits, climbing the highest mountain on each 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 to achieve this after Samina Baig.

Beyond the mountains, Nadia is also a dedicated marathoner. She has already completed the New York, Berlin, and London marathons and will compete in Chicago next month as she works toward finishing all six Abbott World Marathon Majors.

“I proudly carry the Pakistani flag with me to the world’s highest mountains, raising it on every summit I reach,” she said in a message to Brackly News. “As one of the few women of South Asian descent climbing at this level, I aim to inspire others to dream beyond perceived limits and to claim space in arenas where we are rarely seen.”

Whether standing on Himalayan summits or running in major marathons, Nadia Azad continues to push boundaries in two of the most demanding endurance sports. For her, Manaslu was not just a peak conquered, but a reminder of purpose.

“The quiet moments before sunrise, the rhythm of breathing and ice underfoot, the shared silence on the mountain, that’s why I climb,” she said.