Hong Kong’s Ada Tsang Climbs Manaslu in Under 19 Hours, Sets New Women’s Record
Hong Kong’s first female Everest summiteer, Tsang Yin Hung, popularly known as Ada, has set a new women’s speed record on Mt. Manaslu (8,163m), completing the climb from base camp to the summit in just 18 hours and 53 minutes.
According to Dukpa Sherpa of Pioneer Adventure, Tsang began her climb at 6:03 p.m. on Monday, September 22, and reached the summit at 12:56 p.m. the following day.
“We did not climb for the sake of records. Phurba and Nima are my Sherpa brothers I deeply respect. This was about taking on a challenge together. Speed climbing allows me to push my limits, test my abilities, and refine them,” Tsang said after descending to base camp.
Tsang, 50, is no stranger to breaking barriers. In 2017, she became the first woman from Hong Kong to summit Everest and later led the first women’s team from China to the top in 2019. In 2021, she also set the women’s speed record on Everest, reaching the summit in 25 hours and 50 minutes, surpassing the previous record set by Nepal’s Phunjo Jhangmu Lama in 2018.
Recounting the Manaslu climb, Tsang shared that she struggled with nausea and stomach pain during the ascent. “The same thing happened to me on Everest. I couldn’t eat or drink, but I kept telling myself, ‘Ada, you are getting stronger with every step,’ until we reached the summit,” she said.
The expedition was organized jointly by Dreamers Destination Treks & Expedition and Pioneer Adventure. Accompanying Tsang were renowned climbers Nima Gyalzen Sherpa and Phurba Tenjing Sherpa from Rolwaling, along with Tenji Sherpa. Remarkably, Phurba Tenjing completed the climb without supplementary oxygen.
Nima Gyalzen is the first climber from Rolwaling to scale all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks, while the Sherpa siblings’ family holds a Guinness World Record for having eight members summit Everest together.
The team also received crucial weather updates from Davide Peluzzi (Italy) and Rojita Buddhacharya (UK). This achievement comes after Taiwan’s Grace Tseng’s controversial claim in 2022 of summiting Manaslu in 13 hours, which drew criticism due to insufficient evidence.
