Mountaineer and extreme athlete Nelly Attar has made history by becoming the first Lebanese climber to reach the summits of the world’s five highest mountains—Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, and Makalu.
Attar is also the first Arab to summit K2, the world’s second-highest peak and widely considered one of the most dangerous climbs globally.
Milestone in global mountaineering
With this achievement, Attar adds to an extensive climbing record that includes over 40 peaks across five continents. Her long-term goal is to summit all 14 of the world’s mountains that rise above 8,000 metres.
Speaking about her journey, she said: “At the start of this year, I had basically done Everest, K2 and Lhotse, so the first, second, and fourth highest peak. What was left was the fifth and the third and then the idea of doing the top five came about. I thought it would be amazing to do that for now so I was aiming to do Makalu and then it worked out for me to also do the third highest peak in the world, which is Kangchenjunga this year.”
Training from the ground up
Attar, who was based in Saudi Arabia during her early training years, developed a unique preparation method due to limited access to traditional sports infrastructure. She began training in desert landscapes, using sand dunes and stair towers to simulate climbing endurance. Later, she added winter elements like ice baths to adapt to high-altitude conditions.
“Suffer now, summit later—that’s what keeps me going through hours and hours of training,” she said. “That’s how I built a bulletproof mindset.”
Her weekly training included up to 15 hours of focused sessions combining strength, endurance, and recovery to build the stamina needed for high-altitude expeditions.
Attar’s latest achievement highlights the growing presence of Arab women in extreme sports and the wider mountaineering world.
