Mountaineer Dawa Yangzum Sherpa has become the first Nepali woman to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks, inspiring the next generation of female highaltitude climbers. From first summiting Mount Everest more than a decade ago to completing her 14th peak on Shishapangma, the inspiring member of the Rolex family has broken barriers to achieve something no one believed she could do.

For almost a century, Rolex has supported pioneering explorers and extraordinary people like Dawa Yangzum who push the limits of human endeavour for the sake of discovery. The brand equipped the 1933 British Everest Expedition and Sir John Hunt’s historic 1953 expedition, when Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Over time, the brand has moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery to protecting the planet with the creation, for example, of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise in 1976. In 2019, Rolex launched the Perpetual Planet Initiative, and stands alongside explorers, scientists and entrepreneurs, supporting their work to build a better future.

As part of the Rolex family, Dawa Yangzum’s incredible achievements have reached all corners of the globe. The brand is supporting her in inspiring the next generation of Nepali female climbers by providing high-altitude climbing courses – something she dreamed of as a child. Growing up in Nepal’s rural Rolwaling Valley, in the shadow of Mount Everest, Dawa Yangzum was a child of the mountains and a born explorer. The rugged and remote conditions of her Himalayan village, 4,200 metres above sea level, inspired her to climb her country’s peaks. Although local men worked as Sherpas and guides, traditional gender roles meant that girls were historically discouraged from pursuing mountaineering.

“We didn’t have a television but used to listen to the radio, and we would hear that this person or that person had climbed Mount Everest,” she said. One day at school, her teacher asked the class what everyone would like to be when they grew up. Most students said they wanted to be teachers. “I said that I will climb Mount Everest and the whole class burst into laughter.”

Each year she had seen men go to Kathmandu to work the climbing season and aged just 13, she left home to follow in their footsteps. “There wasn’t anyone to say, ‘You should do this.’ They said it was almost impossible.” She held onto the knowledge that her village’s women were even stronger than the men, doing heavy lifting and building work while the men were on the mountains.

Dawa Yangzum’s initial trek was in her own village, making her the first local woman to tread this path – but she had somewhere else in mind. “During that time, Everest was the dream of my life,” she said. After completing training in ice and rock climbing at Nepal’s famed Khumbu Climbing Center, she caught the attention of one of its founders, who selected her for an Everest expedition. Two years later in 2012, aged just 21, she summitted the planet’s tallest peak – and invested her earnings towards becoming a mountain guide.

“I used to think that if I climbed Everest once, I wouldn’t need anything else. That I
would climb it one time and be good for my life. But my story began from there.”
– Dawa Yangzum, Alpinist and Rolex Testimonee

Two years after summiting Everest, Dawa Yangzum was part of the first all-female team from Nepal to summit K2 – known as the “Savage Mountain”, the deadliest peak in the world – making her the youngest woman to reach its peak at the time.

She continued to climb, training with the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association while working towards the prestigious International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) certification, which enabled her to lead expeditions in the planet’s most formidable alpine environments. In five years, she became the first Nepali and Asian woman to gain this recognition.

In 2019, Dawa Yangzum took part in the landmark Rolex and National Geographic Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition. The team installed the two highest weather stations in the world and collected the highest ice core ever recorded, making it the most comprehensive scientific expedition on the mountain in history.

One of Dawa Yangzum’s proudest moments came when she summited Annapurna in 2021 as the first Nepali woman to do so without supplemental oxygen. With one of the hardest summits under her belt, she started seriously thinking about completing the 14 peaks – all of the world’s 8,000-metre mountains.

Keeping with its long-standing tradition of championing inspirational figures, Dawa Yangzum became a Rolex Testimonee in 2022. Through the Perpetual Planet Initiative, the brand supports her ice and rock-climbing training course for Nepali women and girls. Rolex also championed her mission to climb the 14 legendary mountains.

“I received a lot of support from Rolex during the 14 peaks, and also for my girls’
training course. They’ve not only supported me, but many sisters and brothers
through me.”
– Dawa Yangzum, Alpinist and Rolex Testimonee

Eventually, Dawa Yangzum came to the last of the 8,000 metre peaks, Xixabangma. She began its ascent in October 2023, fairly confident as it was among the smaller of the 14 mountains. However, the expedition met tragedy when four of her friends were swept away in avalanches and she was forced to turn back. It was Dawa Yangzum’s first experience of such a disaster on an expedition, and it would be months before she could contemplate the ascent again.

Exactly a year to the day, carrying the weight of those who had walked before her, Dawa Yangzum braved Xixabangma again. After an emotional ascent, she stood at the summit, reflecting on the journey that had led her there, all the records broken and all the losses. With that final momentous climb, she had become the first Nepali woman to complete the 14 peaks.

“When I started this career, I never thought I would reach this level. As a girl coming from a simple family background, I’m very proud,” she says. “It’s not just about me but the whole of Nepal. Earlier we didn’t have anybody to look up to, but now I hear that young girls are proud of me.”

A role model and inspiration to young female climbers, today, Dawa Yangzum leads courses training young Nepali women in high-altitude techniques, and shares her personal journey with them – beyond her successes, to the struggles and sacrifices she made along the way. “Rolex has supported not only me, but many women through me,” she said.

Nine months after summiting Xixabangma, Dawa Yangzum gave birth to her daughter, Tashi. Now embarking on a journey encompassing both mountaineering and motherhood, Dawa Yangzum recently brought her daughter to Nepal to show her the mountains that have shaped her life.

“The mountains treat everyone equally. I am here because of the mountains. If I
hadn’t climbed them, I wouldn’t have reached this place in life.”
– Dawa Yangzum, Alpinist and Rolex Testimonee

ABOUT THE PERPETUAL PLANET INITIATIVE
Rolex celebrates human achievement, recognizing journeys marked by milestones and emotions that culminate in defining moments.

For nearly a century, Rolex has supported pioneering explorers to help them achieve countless historic feats. Over time, the company has moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery to protecting the planet. Through the Perpetual Planet Initiative, Rolex stands alongside those building a better future for all life on earth.

The Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative was launched in 2019 and now has a portfolio of more than 30 partners, active in three main focus areas: Oceans; Landscapes; and Science, Health, and Technology.

For the Oceans, Rolex supports a wide range of projects such as: Mission Blue and Rolex Testimonee Sylvia Earle; Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen; and Coral Gardeners.

The Landscapes roster includes: a strengthened partnership with the National Geographic Society; Rewilding Argentina and Rewilding Chile, offspring organisations of Tompkins Conservation; and Steve Boyes and the Great Spine of Africa series of expeditions.

Rolex also supports partners in Science, Health, and Technology, such as: Rolex Awards Laureates Andrew Bastawrous; Felix Brooks-church; and Miranda Wang.

Rolex also supports organizations and initiatives fostering the next generation of explorers, scientists and conservationists, such as the Royal Geographical Society, The Explorers Club, and the CERN & Society Foundation.