Ukrainian climbers successfully summit 8,000-meter Mount Manaslu for the first time

Antonina Samoilova, the first Ukrainian female climber to climb Mount Everest twice, successfully climbed Mount Manaslu (8,163 meters). She was the first Ukrainian woman to reach the summit of the 8,000 peaks in the Himalayas. Before her, 20 Ukrainian men had reached the summit of Manaslu.

The summit will be reached at 7 a.m. on September 28, 2023. The summit day lasted 37 hours. Antonina originally planned to complete the climb without oxygen, but ended up using oxygen due to health problems caused by sinusitis and fever.

Antonina says her goal is to show the world that Ukraine deserves a place on the global high-altitude climbing stage.

“I want to show the world what a strong country we are. The strength of the spirit is in the blood of Ukrainians, so the path of our country can only go forward, emphasizing pain and suffering… Others might collapse and give up. But we keep going. Our spirit is very strong and unmatched. It’s in our blood,” she said.

Manaslu is Antonina’s third climb of Mount Eight Thousand Mountains, having climbed Mount Eight Thousand Mountains four times in total before. Before climbing Manaslu, she had successfully climbed Mount Everest twice and Mount K2 once. This achievement made her the first Ukrainian woman to complete four 8,000-meter summits.