Extreme sports athlete and mountaineer Nelly Attar has made history by becoming the first Lebanese to summit the world’s five highest mountains: Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, and Makalu.
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She is also the first Arab to summit K2, which is widely considered the most dangerous mountain on Earth.
Attar’s milestone follows her successful ascents of Makalu (8,485 metres) and Kangchenjunga (8,586 metres) earlier this year, completing a goal that began as a spontaneous challenge. “At the start of this year, I had basically done Everest, K2 and Lhotse… I thought it would be amazing to do the top five,” she explained.
The athlete’s route to the top has been unconventional. Based in Saudi Arabia before the development of major sports infrastructure, Attar trained on desert dunes and staircases to build endurance. She later incorporated cold exposure and strength conditioning into her regime. At peak training, she trained for up to 15 hours a week across different energy systems.
For her most recent climbs, she shifted away from solo training to group sessions, combining high and low intensity workouts and focusing on community energy as a source of strength.
Her summit of Makalu on 10 May was, she says, one of her most rewarding. “I felt incredibly strong that day and moved in a complete flow state for hours… it was a long day, but an unforgettable one.”
By contrast, the Kangchenjunga ascent presented greater hardship. “It’s 16 kilometres long with over 1,300 metres of elevation gain from Camp 4 and back — all above 8,000 metres,” she said. Temperatures reached -40°C with winds of 50 km/h. She also endured the loss of two oxygen bottles to theft. “I had to dig so deep to keep going.”
Attar has now summited over 40 mountains across five continents and aims to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks. A former psychotherapist and two-time Guinness World Record holder, she is also known for founding Saudi Arabia’s first dance studio and contributing to the growth of the Kingdom’s sports sector.
“I hope I’ve paved the way for others, especially women from the region, to see that it is possible,” she said.
