A resident of Hanoi has become the first Vietnamese woman to summit Mount Ama Dablam, which peaks at 6,812 meters in Nepal, amazing the community of local mountaineers and climbing enthusiasts.

One week before she climbed Mt. Ama Dablam, Nguyen Thanh Binh successfully conquered the peak of Mount Lobuche at 6,119 meters, one of the highest summits in the Himalayas and only 10 kilometers from Mt. Ama Dablam.

Binh returned to Hanoi on November 11, two days after summiting the mountain, concluding her successful climbing trip this year. 

She recounted her accomplishment to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, saying, “Climbing Mt. Ama Dablam is challenging, especially for women, due to its rough and rugged mountain terrain.”

“We had to swing on ropes to cross several steep vertical and tricky stretches of the mountain, which required climbers to have good physical health and skills," Binh narrated.

Mental strength played a crucial role in her success, Binh shared, noting that she always prepares herself with a sense of calm before each climb.

She expressed gratitude to her fellow mountaineer and the skilled Sherpa guide team for their unwavering support during her ascent of Ama Dablam.

Her determination was further fueled when another Vietnamese climber on the same expedition had to halt their journey midway, motivating Binh to push forward and reach the summit.

Binh’s companion during her Himalayan climb was climbing coach Phan Thanh Nhien, recognized for scaling Mount Everest.

“Nhien is my long-standing friend and first climbing coach,” Binh said.

“I always remember his speech that to achieve your dreams, the only way is that you must maintain practice every day.”

Emotional climb of Mt. Everest 

In April 2023, Nhien and Binh were climbing Mount Everest at an altitude of 8,849 meters, the highest mountain in the world.

Unfortunately, when they reached 6,800 meters, Binh heard from her family that her father had passed away. She immediately quit the trip to fly home.

She returned to Nepal later and was encouraged to continue her climb of Everest. She reached a height of 7,500 meters. 

“Unfortunately, bad weather and a powerful storm forced me to stop the second climb,” she said.

“The unfinished Everest climb remains a sentimental and pitiful memory. 

"After the failed second attempt, I took a break from all climbing excursions.

"It was not until the first day of 2024, when I climbed Sa Mu U Bo Mountain in Son La Province, [northern Vietnam] to admire the sunrise, that I realized I could not give up climbing.

"And I would continue.”

She kept pursuing her passion by scaling the 5,895-meter Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, and then summited Mt. Lobuche and Mt. Ama Dablam.

“These climbs brought back my confidence,” she said.

“I am finishing a draft of a novel titled ‘Snowy Peak,’ depicting my unforgettable memories about the Mount Everest climb to share with the climbing community." 

She also shared confidently that she would return to Nepal and conquer Mt. Everest in the future.

Many Vietnamese climbers reach world peaks

This year, many Vietnamese climbers managed to summit several risky mountains in the Indian Himalayas.

Dr. Ngo Hai Son from Viet Duc University Hospital in Hanoi spent one month preparing and scaling K2 in Pakistan. It is the world’s second-highest mountain, and notoriously dangerous at 8,611 meters above sea level.

“I started ascending to the peak of K2 on July 28,” he said.

Khai Nguyen, an engineer working in the United States, was the first to conquer K2, and Dr. Son was the second.

In late September, when Nepal entered the autumn-winter climbing season, Vietnamese climbers and coaches Bui Van Ngoi, Do Huu Nam, Nguyen Manh Duy, and Khai Nguyen reached the peak of Mount Manaslu at 8,163 meters, which is the world’s eighth-highest mountain.

Nam and Nguyen have made history as the first Vietnamese climbers to receive official certification for scaling Mount Manaslu from Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation.

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