KATHMANDU: July 1 will be remembered as an extraordinary day on Nanga Parbat. By the time the Killer Mountain's summit teams had returned to high camps, two women had written their names into mountaineering history — one by becoming the oldest woman ever to stand on top of the world's ninth-highest peak, and the other by adding Nanga Parbat to a collection that already included every 8,000-metre summit on earth.

Liliya Ianovskaia, a 67-year-old Canadian climber, and Naoko Watanabe, the Japanese mountaineer who became the first woman from her country to complete all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre peaks, both reached the summit of Nanga Parbat (8,126m) on July 1 as part of separate expeditions organised by 8K Expeditions.

The oldest woman on the Killer Mountain

For Ianovskaia, the summit of Nanga Parbat is the latest in a series of records she has been quietly accumulating across the world's highest peaks. She already holds world records as the oldest woman to summit Everest, K2, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Lhotse and Makalu — every one of them achieved with 8K Expeditions. Nanga Parbat is now the seventh peak on that list, and her seventh record.

Her summit team on July 1 included Ukrainian climbers Iryna Karagan, Pavlo Sydrenko and Danylo Yasnyuk, Nepali guides Dawa Ongju Sherpa and Dawa Nupu Sherpa, and Pakistani high-altitude workers Muhammad Ali and Ilyas, with ground logistics managed by Summit Karakoram.

Lakpa Sherpa, Managing Director of 8K Expeditions, described the achievement as a source of enormous pride. "We are immensely proud to announce that our 8K International Team successfully reached the summit of Nanga Parbat — famously known as the Killer Mountain," he said. "Every successful summit is earned through months of preparation, trust, sacrifice and perseverance," he added, crediting every climber, Sherpa and support team member for their courage and commitment.

On Ianovskaia specifically, Lakpa Sherpa said her ascent continued to shift the boundaries of what high-altitude mountaineering looks like. "Her relentless determination, extraordinary resilience and unwavering spirit continue to inspire climbers across the globe and prove that age is no barrier to achieving greatness," he said.

He also singled out Dawa Ongju Sherpa as the driving force behind the team's safe passage to the summit. "This remarkable success was led by Dawa Ongju Sherpa, whose exceptional leadership, technical expertise and years of high-altitude experience guided the team safely to the summit of one of the world's most demanding 8,000-meter peaks," Lakpa Sherpa said.

Watanabe adds the Killer Mountain to her collection

Hours after Ianovskaia's team summited, a second 8K Expeditions team led by Naoko Watanabe also reached the top, completing what has become a landmark day for the Kathmandu-based outfitter on one of Pakistan's most formidable peaks.

Watanabe's team comprised fellow Japanese climbers Keizo Konishi and Saori Eragaki, alongside Nepali guides Pechhumbe Sherpa, Pasdawa Sherpa and Mingma Dorchee Sherpa.

For Watanabe, Nanga Parbat is a summit that fits neatly alongside one of the most decorated careers in modern mountaineering. A Japanese nurse by profession, she completed all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre peaks in October 2024, becoming the first Japanese woman to do so and the first Japanese climber to summit six 8,000-metre peaks in a single year. She also holds a Guinness World Record for the most K2 ascents by a woman — three, achieved across 2018, 2023 and 2024 — a feat officially certified with the record reading: the most ascents of K2 by a woman is three, achieved by Naoko Watanabe on 21 July 2018, 27 July 2023 and 28 July 2024.

A season building momentum

The two summits on July 1 came a day after Nanga Parbat recorded the summer 2026 season's first successful ascents, when more than 20 climbers from Seven Summit Treks and 14 Peaks Expedition reached the top following a route opened by SST's rope-fixing team led by Mingtemba Sherpa. Three consecutive days of summiting on the Killer Mountain have set a confident tone for what is shaping up to be a strong Karakoram summer, with teams from multiple Nepali operators now positioned for attempts on K2, Broad Peak and the Gasherbrums in the weeks ahead.