Rysgul Akimjanova has become the second woman from Kyrgyzstan to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at 8,848 meters.
Akimjanova reached the summit at 4:40 a.m. Nepal time on May 27 and has since begun her descent to a lower camp. Her success follows an earlier attempt just days prior, which was aborted at 8,400 meters due to a shortage of oxygen.
Earlier this month, The Times of Central Asia reported that Asel Baibagysheva became the first Kyrgyz woman to summit Everest, accomplishing the feat on May 11.
Baibagysheva is an experienced mountaineer, having previously summited Lenin Peak (7,134 m), Khan Tengri (7,010 m), and Pobeda Peak (7,439 m) in Kyrgyzstan, as well as Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) in Russia’s Caucasus region. She was also the first Kyrgyz woman to climb Manaslu in Nepal, the world’s eighth-highest mountain at 8,163 meters.
Dmitry Grekov was the first Kyrgyz man to summit Everest in 1997, followed by Eduard Kubatov in May 2021.