Bonita Norris (born 1987) is best known for becoming the youngest British woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest at the age of 22 from May 2010 until May 2012, when her record was broken by Leanna Shuttleworth, aged 19. [1]
In 2011 Bonita climbed Ama Dablam with Lhakpa Wongchu Sherpa and in 2012, Bonita returned to the Himalayas for her fifth expedition, to attempt Lhotse, the world's fourth-highest mountain. She successfully summited on 28 May 2012, becoming the third British woman to do so. [2] In 2016, Bonita attempted to climb the world's second-highest peak, K2 in Pakistan, [3] but was unsuccessful. [4]
In 2017, Bonita published her memoir, The Girl Who Climbed Everest, in hardback by Hodder & Stoughton. The paperback version reached number 1 in the Amazon Mountaineering book chart in 2022.
Norris attended The Holt School, located in Wokingham, Berkshire, England. [5] She went on to study at Royal Holloway, University of London, graduating in 2009 with a BA Media Arts. [6]
Norris has two children and lives in London with her husband, the former competition climber, Adrian Baxter.
Ama Dablam is a mountain in the eastern Himalayan range of Koshi Province, Nepal. The main peak is 6,812 metres (22,349 ft), the lower western peak is 6,170 metres (20,243 ft). Ama Dablam means "mother's necklace"; the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother (ama) protecting her child, and the hanging glacier thought of as the dablam, the traditional double-pendant containing pictures of the gods, worn by Sherpa women. For several days, Ama Dablam dominates the eastern sky for anyone trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp. For its soaring ridges and steep faces Ama Dablam is sometimes referred as the "Matterhorn of the Himalayas." The mountain is featured on the one rupee Nepalese banknote.
Ryszard Pawłowski - Polish alpine and high-altitude climber and photographer. Member of The Explorers Club.
Victor Saunders is a British climber and author. He trained as an architect at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. His first book, Elusive Summits, won the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature in 1991. He became as a UIAGM/IFMGA ski and mountain guide in 1996 and joined the SNGM in 2003. Saunders first reached the summit of Mount Everest in May 2004, and went on to climb it several more times. In 2020 he became president of the Alpine Club.
Anna Czerwińska was a Polish climber. She is known for being the then-oldest woman to summit Mount Everest, doing so at the age of 50. She also published several books about mountaineering.
Sergey Anatolyevich Kofanov is a Russian mountaineer.
Phurba Tashi Sherpa Mendewa is a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer known for his numerous ascents of major Himalayan peaks. These include 21 ascents of Mount Everest, six on Cho Oyu, eight on Manaslu, and one each on Shishapangma and Lhotse.
Silvio Mondinelli is an Italian climber. In 2007, he became the 13th person to climb the 14 eight-thousanders. He is the 6th person to achieve that feat without using supplemental oxygen and the first mountaineer to climb the Seven Summits and the 14 eight-thousanders.
Adrian Ballinger is a British-American certified IFMGA/AMGA mountain guide, certified through the American Mountain Guides Association and a sponsored climber and skier. Ballinger is the founder and CEO of Alpenglow Expeditions, and has been guiding full-time for 25 years. He has led over 150 international climbing expeditions on six continents, and made 18 successful summits of 8,000m peaks. He is known for pioneering the use of pre-acclimatization for commercial expeditions as early as 2012, which can cut the amount of time typically spent on an expedition in half. Adrian is the only American to have made three successful ski descents of 8,000m peaks, including the first ski descent of Manaslu from its summit. He is also the fourth American to have summited both Mount Everest and K2 without the use of supplemental oxygen.
Garrett Madison is an American mountaineer, guide and expedition leader. Madison began guiding professionally in 1999 on Mount Rainier and has reached the summit of Mount Everest 14 times. His company, Madison Mountaineering, specializes in climbs on Mount Everest and other high altitude peaks, operates on the highest peaks on all seven continents, and also provides training programs and summit climbs in Washington State.
Chris Jensen Burke was the first New Zealand or Australian woman to reach the summit of K2. Since climbing Mount Everest on 20 May 2011, Burke has climbed nine other eight-thousanders, including K2 on 26 July 2014 and Kanchenjunga on 17 May 2018. She is also the first New Zealand or Australian woman to complete the Seven Summits.
Martin Walter Schmidt, known as Marty, was a New Zealand-American mountaineer, guide and adventurer.
SheikhaAsma Al Thani is a Qatari mountaineer who is the first Qatari woman to summit Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Manaslu, K2 as well as the first Qatari female to climb Ama Dablam. She is also the first Qatari person to ski to the North Pole. On her ascent of Manaslu, she became the first Arab person to summit an eight-thousander without oxygen. She climbed Lhotse for the second time in May 2024, without the use of supplemental oxygen, becoming the first Arab to climb two 8000er without supplemental oxygen. She is Director of Marketing and Communications for the Qatar Olympic Committee. She is also a member of the ruling family of Qatar.
Adriana Brownlee is an English mountaineer, certified paragliding pilot, and adventure athlete. She is the youngest woman to have climbed the world’s second highest peak K2 on July 28, 2022 and youngest women to climb the higher 8,000ers on 28 July 2022.
Kristin Harila is a Norwegian-Northern Saami mountaineer and former cross-country skier. During 2022–2023, she set multiple speed records for the ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders, which are the peaks in the world that are over 8,000 metres in elevation.
Fahad Abdulrahman Badar (born 1979) is a Qatari banker & mountaineer. He is the first Arab to summit two of the highest mountains in the world, Mount Everest and Lhotse, in a single expedition.
Nelly Attar is a mountaineer from Lebanon/Saudi Arabia who in 2022, became the first Arab woman to summit K2. Nelly is a former psychologist. She has an MRes in psychology and has worked four years as a therapist, prior to shifting into sports.
Nadhira Al Harthy or Nadhira Alharthy is an Omani civil servant and mountaineer. She was the second person from Oman, and the first Omani woman, to climb Mount Everest. She has also summitted several other eight-thousander peaks, including Manaslu, K2, and Nanga Parbat.