At 6:50 AM local time on July 1, 2026, Liliya Ianovskaia stood on the summit of Nanga Parbat (8,126 m) — the world's ninth-highest mountain, known as “the Killer Mountain” — and her eleventh eight-thousander. At 66, she becomes the oldest woman ever to summit Nanga Parbat.
According to the summit update from 8K Expeditions, the successful Nanga Parbat team comprised Liliya Ianovskaia, Iryna Karagan, Pavlo Sydrenko, Danylo Yasnyuk, Dawa Ongju Sherpa, Dawa Nupu Sherpa, Muhammad Ali, and Ilyas. 8K Expeditions confirmed that Liliya, at 66, is the oldest woman in history to summit the peak.
After reaching the top, she descended to Camp 3 at around 12:30 PM local time, where she is resting before continuing down. Nanga Parbat, at the western end of the Himalaya in Pakistan, earned its grim nickname from the many climbers lost on its slopes before its first ascent in 1953; it remains one of the most serious and committing of the fourteen eight-thousanders.
Eleven of fourteen
With Nanga Parbat, Liliya now counts eleven of the world's fourteen eight-thousanders — adding to Cho Oyu (2019), Manaslu (2021), Everest (2022), K2 (2022), Gasherbrum II (2022), Lhotse (2023), Dhaulagiri (2023), Makalu (2024), Annapurna I (2025), and Kangchenjunga (2026). Three remain: Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak, and Shishapangma.
Liliya, 66, took up mountaineering at fifty. With Nanga Parbat she now holds oldest-woman records on five eight-thousanders — K2 (2022), Dhaulagiri (2023), Annapurna I (2025), Kangchenjunga (2026), and Nanga Parbat (2026) — in addition to her Guinness World Records as the oldest woman to summit K2 and the oldest woman to complete the Everest + K2 double in a single year.
Deep gratitude to Dawa Ongju Sherpa, Dawa Nupu Sherpa, the 8K Expeditions team, and the Summit Karakoram support team for guiding and supporting the climb. Summit photographs to follow.
