Liliya Ianovskaia, not only managed to successfully climb Everest in Nepal, but went on to climb two more mountains above 8,000 meters a few weeks later. Despite Everest being the highest mountain on earth at 8,849 meters, K2 in Pakistan, the second highest peak, is known to be one of the most dangerous and difficult treks due to avalanches, steep and unpredictable weather conditions. But Ianovskaia said that didn’t stop her, and neither did her age. “I don’t see any limits really imposed by age, I feel strong … and I’ve been able to dream big,” she said. “And yes, maybe it’s bold at times, but so far I’ve been able to pull it off. I think age is not a limit, it’s just a number.” Everest base camp. (Submitted by Dasha Ianovskaia) On July 22, Ianovskaia and her climbing partner — her younger daughter Dasha — scaled the 8,611-meter mountain in the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan. “Climbing K2 was amazing. I’ve always wanted to go to Pakistan,” Ianovskaia said. “For years I thought [it], but I thought, no, it’s too hard. It’s too dangerous, too complicated [but] everything is possible.” Ianovskaia is the oldest woman to climb K2 and the first Canadian to climb the mountain, according to German researcher Eberhard Jurgalski and his team at 8,000’ers.com who study mountains above 8,000 meters. “If someone had told me then that we would climb Everest together, then I would have thought they were crazy,” said Dasha Yanovskaya, left. (Laura Pedersen/CBC) On 8 August, Ianovskaia followed up with her fifth 8,000m plus peak, Gasherbrum II in the same area as K2 and is the 13th highest mountain in the world at 8,035m above sea level. Ianovskaia, inspired by her youngest of three daughters, Dasha, set a list of goals to achieve within a year of her 50th birthday. Not only did she crush her original goal of running a marathon, but she ran three in the space of six weeks. She also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, a 5,895-meter volcano in Tanzania with her daughter in 2009. “That was the beginning of everything, and after that I realized that I can definitely push myself harder,” Ianovskaia said. As of 2019, Ianovskaia has climbed a total of five of the 14 mountains above 8,000 meters: Cho Oyu, Manaslu, Everest, K2 and Gasherbrum II. The International Mountaineering and Climbing Association (UIAA) recognizes the “8,000ers” as the 14 mountains above 8,000 meters. Dasha Ianovskaia inspired her mother to start climbing at the age of 50. “If someone had told me back then that we would be climbing Everest together, then I would have thought they were crazy,” Dasha said. The moving ice, deep crevasses and frequent ice falls are one of the most dangerous parts of the team’s Everest climb, he said. But that didn’t stop the mother-daughter duo from moving on. “Sharing the moment on top of the world, when we’re both very short people … we were the tallest people,” he said. Ianovskaia said the expedition team needed six weeks to acclimatize to the altitude on Everest before attempting to reach the summit on May 14. He said the climbers had to continue hiking up and down for weeks before taking five days off to rest before the official summit day. Liliya Ianovskaia on a ladder during the crossing of the Khumbu Icefall on Everest in May, the most dangerous part of the Everest climb due to moving ice, deep crevasses and frequent ice falls. (Submitted by Dasha Ianovskaia) Ianovskaia plans to return to Nepal next spring to traverse the third and fourth highest mountains in the world off her list: Kangchenjunga and Lhotse. She said she’s never felt more motivated in her life. “I feel like at this point in my life I can do a lot more than I could do in my mid-30s,” Ianovskaia said. “Keep training, stay positive, set goals and just go for it.” Dasha Ianovskaia, left, and Liliya Ianovskaia, right. (Submitted by Dasha Ianovskaia)
