Trailblazing Brit Adriana Brownlee makes history as the youngest ever female climber to summit the world’s tallest mountains
23-year-old mountaineer Adriana Brownlee has officially become the youngest ever female mountaineer to summit the fourteen 8000m peaks when she topped out on Shishapangma (8027m) on 9th October at 08:01.
Adriana and her team are now safely off the mountain and in Tibet recovering from the climb.
The last climb wasn’t without it’s challenges with Adriana and her team temporarily losing the rope that had been fixed a few days before by the previous summit team and battling nausea on the final climb.
The final push was an emotional one. Adriana said: “I started to cry. I hadn’t reached the summit yet, I couldn’t even see it, but I knew it was going to happen.
“It took another hour before we reached the incredible summit. By this time it was just sunrise and we had a beautiful clear sky.
“It was the most incredible moment. I cried again remembering that I had just summited all 14 8000m peaks and made history.”
The summit also makes Adriana the second official British climber to summit all fourteen peaks (and first female). Adriana adds; “British explorers have always been breaking boundaries. I’m proud to set another world first and keep that tradition alive.’’
“I have always had a love and fascination with mountains for as long as I can remember.”
Adriana’s love of the mountains was clear from a young age, with her even handing in a primary school piece of homework saying that her dream was to ‘be famous for climbing the highest mountain in the world’, adding ‘I have always liked mountains and especially high ones’.
Her passion for the outdoors was fuelled further when she completed the three peaks (Snowden, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis) in just 22 hours at the age of 8 with her father, Tony.
However, it was 31st May 2021, at the age of 20, when she fulfilled her childhood dream of summitting Mt Everest – setting in motion the journey to her record breaking achievement to be the youngest woman to climb the fourteen 8000m peaks.
Over the following three years, Adriana continued to set world firsts as she summited peak after peak – breaking two further records along the way including the youngest female in the world to summit K2 and the youngest person to summit Gasherbrum 1 without supplementary Oxygen.
For her last climb, Adriana wanted to summit without the use of oxygen – making it an even tougher challenge.
Adriana added; “It’s all about intrinsic motivation for me and wanting to push my body and achieve my personal goals. Mountaineering is my escape in life, it makes me feel free and truly connected with myself so it becomes an obsession to go back.’’
“I hope to inspire youngsters all over the world that there is no set path in life. You can create your own destiny and journey which can be totally unique to you if that’s what makes you happy.
“I quit university and my degree to pursue a career in mountaineering and sacrificed friendships, regular teenage life and more, but it was all worth it.”
Having achieved the ultimate goal in mountaineering, what is left for Adriana to achieve? She replied; “I will stay in the mountains, but now want to help others achieve their dream by creating a new generation of high altitude mountaineering and trekking experiences which focuses on safety and clients’ past experiences.”
To find out more about Adriana and her achievements, visit @Adri.brownlee on Instagram.
Adriana Brownlee summits:
Everest 8849m June 2021
Manaslu 8163m Sept 2021
Dhaulagiri 8167m Oct 2021
Annapurna 8091m April 2022
Kanchenjunga 8586m May 2022
Lhotse 8516m May 2022
Makalu 8485m May 2022
Nanga Parbat 8126m June 2022
Broad Peak 8051m July 2022
K2 8611m July 2022
Gasherbrum II 8034m July 2023
Gasherbrum I 8080m July 2023 (no O2)
Cho You 8201m Oct 2023
Shishapangma 8027m Oct 2024 (No O2)