Naila Kiani becomes first Pakistani woman to summit three peaks above 8,000m

She summited K2 in July and ascended Gasherbrum-II in 2021

Mountaineer Naila Kiani on Friday has successfully scaled her third peak over 8,000 metres in height, making her the first Pakistani woman to achieve this milestone.

Kiani reached the top of Gasherbrum-1 – the 11th highest mountain in the world – at 7:45am today, despite extreme weather conditions between the C2 and C3 points.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by BARD Foundation (@bard_foundation)

The Dubai-based banker summited K2, the second highest peak in the world, in July. Prior to that, Kiani had ascended the world's 13th highest mountain, Gasherbrum-II, in 2021.

Last month, Pakistan celebrated Samina Baig becoming the first woman from the country to summit K2.

Read Nepali Sherpa sets climbing record on Pakistan mountain

The 31-year-old had reached the top of the 8,611-metre (28,251-foot) peak as part of a seven-member local team and was followed hours later by Naila Kiani.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had praised Baig and Kiani, with his office tweeting that both "have emerged as symbols of courage and bravery".

Pakistan is home to five of the world's 14 mountains higher than 8,000 metres, and climbing them all is considered the ultimate achievement of any mountaineer.