Mountaineer Adriana Brownlee reveals to Annabelle Bond what it takes to be the youngest person to summit Dhaulagiri at 21 (2023)

Adriana Brownlee is not your average 21 year old. She has taken life into her own hands, postponed university and is in the middle of a record-breaking quest to become the youngest woman to climb all the 8,000-metre peaks in the world. These are some of the deadliest mountains on the planet where the odds are a statistic that you don’t want to dwell on. The 8,000-metre peak challenge is not for the faint-hearted as we have all seen on her mentor, mountaineer “Nims” Nirmal Purja’s wildly successful Netflix hit show 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible.

Brownlee’s climbing ability caught my eye, as having done a little bit of climbing myself I was so impressed someone of her age has the mental ability and drive to take on such a momentous challenge with such high odds. I for a multitude of reasons did not venture into mountaineering until I was 31 years old and can relay first-hand how hard and what grit it takes to do these climbs. She is clearly in very good hands as she is climbing with Elite Exped which is the company set up by Purja, Mingma Gyabu sherpa and Mingma Tenzi Sherpa all of who accompanied Nims and featured in the 14 Peaks record-breaking film.

Annabelle Bond

I caught up with Brownlee the day before she headed back to Kathmandu to continue the second phase of her challenge and asked her a few questions about her life and how this all came to pass. I will be following this dynamic young woman on every climb not without a hint of nostalgia, of course.

When did your love of climbing begin?
The flame was ignited when my father suggested we try the Three Peaks challenge together at age nine. I guess he saw something inside of me before I even knew my own potential. So did we make it? Hell yeah! It took us 22 hours and landed me in the local newspaper as the youngest ever to complete the Three Peaks in under 24 hours. Following this, I was addicted to the adrenaline rush of achieving huge goals and being unique amongst my peers. I continued to pursue my passion for climbing again from age 15, completing the Welsh 3000s, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, and Aconcagua alongside my dad. At age 20 I summited Mount Everest, but this time it was a different feeling, I was no longer climbing with my dad and although I felt as though a part of my success and celebration was not whole, it was also the beginning of my thriving independence as a strong young female alpinist.

I’m so impressed that you competed in the three peaks challenge at nine years old. Can you tell us what that entailed and how long it took you?
Initially, we actually climbed the Three peaks beginning with Snowdon and supposedly ending with Ben Nevis. However, things didn’t go quite to plan. Following a crucial rookie error of weeing myself before our last climb, my health slowly deteriorated as we battled Ben Nevis. I got hyperthermia about 200 metres from the summit and with about 50 layers of clothing donated from other climbers. Game Over. But there was a positive light to this story – I managed to make the decision myself to go down and sacrifice our last summit. My dad, to this day, never fails to mention how impressive it was that I made such a mature decision at such a young age. Only now do I appreciate how important these types of life-or-death decisions are on 8000m peaks. About two months later, we came back and this time tackled Ben Nevis first. Twenty-two hours later, I was back in the car, too exhausted to even fathom what I had just achieved!

Adriana Brownlee

How did you connect with mountaineer Nims and end up climbing Everest with him? Did he inspire you to switch from the seven summits to climbing all the 8,000-metre peaks?
The first day I met him, I was shaking in awe. What a legend. Following my summits of MountKilimanjaro, Elbrus and Aconcagua, my original plan was to climb Everest with my father with a British company. However, Covid struck, and our expedition got cancelled. I remember receiving the call that Nepal had banned all travel, and I bawled out crying for the remainder of the day. My boyfriend at the time, bless him, tried to console me, but it wasn’t going to happen. I pulled myself together eventually and decided to call Nimsdai. I had been in contact with him just through social media at the time, so it was a long shot, but he answered. Still sobbing, I asked him what his plan was for Everest and whether he would be going in the Autumn season. Now autumn is no joke, It's not the usual climbing season, but I knew I was fit and mentally there. He said 100%. I was already envisaging myself there. However, Covid was relentless, and that also got cancelled. I eventually met up with Nims in Reading slap bang in the middle of my fresher’s week at uni – I had lost at least ¾ of my brain cells at this point! But the biggest part I remember of that meeting was the crazy similarity in our mindset. I think it was for that reason he offered me the opportunity to join him and his Nepali team on K2 Winter. Honestly, at first, I thought it was a joke. But a few months later, I was in Pakistan with Nims and his team. Unbelievable. During that expedition, Nims told me I had to go for the 14 8000-ers. It was in my blood. And so here I am today! Three down, 11 to go.\

What is it like climbing with Nims? How much of a role has he played in your 8,000-metre peak challenge?
Nims has played a huge part in getting me to where I am today. He was essentially my climbing mentor for that whole year. He taught me everything about 8000m peaks, and honestly, I can’t thank him enough for that. His style of leading is definitely military-style– he’s brutal, and if you don’t follow his command, you may as well go home! But it works, and his success rate shows that. This year I won’t be climbing with his expedition company just because they are doing different expeditions to the ones I want. Still, the Elite Exped team will always be my family, especially Gelje Sherpa, who guided me up Everest and Manaslu and has become my best friend and my climbing partner!

When I climbed Everest, I was one of 12 women climbing from both north and south. Can you tell us how many women climbers there are nowadays?
You know this question puts a smile on my face. The female climbing community is growing at such an incredible rate, and it's so awesome to see. When I was on Everest, our team alone had more women than men! And you know what, we absolutely smashed it. Stronger than every guy there, mentally and physically. Of course, there are still more men overall; however, I am so optimistic about how the future looks in female mountaineering. I wouldn’t say that in any way we are seen any differently up there, though. If you think about it, you’re covered head to toe, no one knows really who a guy is and who is a girl, and that’s when you really see that there are 0 differences. It's so cool to see. I think we are also very lucky to be from open and accepting countries; however, I guess there is still some work to do in other parts of the world, but we are getting there!

Adriana Brownlee

What intrigues me is how you had the focus, drive, and determination to be a mountaineer at a young age. It has to be one of the toughest sports. Can you tell us about your teenage mindset and how you combined your passion for climbing and teenage life? Did it keep you on the straight and narrow?
Teenage years where interesting. Once I seriously got back into climbing, I suddenly saw the world in a different light. I was laser-focused on my training and lifestyle that friends and social life became secondary. It wasn’t until my gap year that I realised how much I had ostracised myself, but in a way, I don’t regret it. If I didn’t have that focus back then, I wouldn’t be here today. Friends at the age either understand or don’t, and I soon realised that the few friends that stayed were the real ones. At school, I was certainly motivated to get good grades. However, I was not motivated to study! I think I am blessed with having a photographic memory that serves me wonders an hour before my A Levels exams! Originally my goal was to study medicine; I got the grades, and I had the extracurriculars and work experience to go down that path. But my stubborn minded self knew it wasn’t right. I had an inkling I was destined to do something different, and now I know what that was. I plan to go back to medicine once I climb the 14 peaks. This mindset gets me up and down those mountains and gets me up every morning at 6 am to train 3 hours without fail, or to sit down interview after interview, email after email, to secure sponsorships. Once I have a goal in mind, I make it my absolute life to conquer it.

You are in a position to inspire other teenagers to get out of their comfort zones and go and live their dreams. Will you be speaking at schools and universities between climbs?
Oh definitely! I already do a fair bit here and there, mostly online, but honestly, it’s the most rewarding part of this career. Lighting even the smallest spark inside the youngsters that I talk to is so amazing. I have spoken to kids from age 5 to 18, and every single time, the questions I get are so thought-provoking and pure. My dream of climbing Everest began at age 9; I even wrote it down in one of my homework assignments in year 2, which is now hanging on my wall! This is the age where dreams begin, so being a part of that makes my world!

What made you decide to get your paragliding license?
I decided to go for my paragliding course in Nepal following the K2 winter expedition! Nimsdai told me to enrol and go for it, so I didn’t think twice! I loved the idea of pushing my comfort zone and trying something new, and so now I am a certified paragliding pilot in both Nepal and the UK – pretty insane.

Will you be releasing your version of Nims very successful Netflix hit show14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible?
Oh, I wish! It would be my dream to be able to release a documentary not necessarily just about the mission, but a story of how I got to this point and my very personal story in Nepal. It’s an idea that’s been rolling around in my thoughts for ages; however, these things don’t come cheap! And so, financing the climbs themselves is a priority. If miraculously I receive aid for filming, consider it a future Grammy-winning documentary. In the meantime, though, my thoughts are being transferred to my I phone notes section, ready for a book.

Adriana Brownlee

Have you had any death-defying moments in any of your climbs?
Dhaulagiri was definitely the closest I’ve been to serious complications. We encountered a storm on our climb from camp 2 to camp 3. Although we knew something was brewing, we didn’t know it would get this bad. Winds of up to 120 kph and a temperature of around -40 degrees Celsius. To call it frightening would be a huge understatement. It felt as though every god from the mountains had collectively struck down their weapons and created a wave of destruction to get us off that mountain. My hands froze solid onto my jumar. I thought I had frostbite on both hands. Nimsdai turned around and investigated my glazed over eyes and screamed at the top of his lungs, still barely able to penetrate the howling wind between us, “if you don’t f****ng move now, you’re going to die” That definitely woke me up. I stupidly left my warm, dry gloves in my backpack instead of in my down suit where I could easily reach them. The storm was too bad. We couldn’t even move enough to get my backpack off. I had to resort to putting my hands in Nimsdai’s armpits, where I suddenly got the most excruciating pain where my nerves were regaining sensation. It felt like a million needles were injecting into my fingers constantly. We made it down to camp 2, white faces in the tent, reminiscing on the events that had just unfolded. There were certainly a few lessons learned there and a lot of frostnips.

You climbed Everest, Manaslu and Dhaulagiri all in one year by the age of 21!! That is quite a feat in itself! What’s the next phase?
Next up is Kanchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu in spring, followed hopefully by K2 and Broad peak in summer and possibly a winter ascent of Cho Oyu from the Nepali side.

How do your parents cope when sending off their 21-year old daughter on potentially life-threatening expeditions?
My parents are my number one supporter, and without them, I would never have been able to take this leap into the unknown and pursue a far from a normal career in climbing. They believed in me from day dot, but also, of course, they feared my every move. They certainly didn’t sleep whenever I had a summit push approaching, but I think they know deep down that I will be safe if I make the right decisions.

I found sponsorship one of the hardest aspects of my seven summit challenge. How has it been for you?
The chances of finding a company that believes in what you do enough to put a hefty amount of cash in your account are slim to none. However, I did manage to land a sponsorship deal with The North Face, the absolute dream! I am super grateful for this huge opportunity to network with some of the biggest names in mountaineering and wear their pretty snazzy clothing! Sponsorships are all about personal connections and having a story that ignites an interest in the public. These are two things that are difficult but, of course, manageable with hard work and determination.