Renowned Chinese mountaineer He Jing, the first woman to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres without supplementary oxygen, said in Kathmandu on Wednesday that courage should never be limited by gender, age or fear.

Addressing climbers, tourism entrepreneurs and guests attending the Everest Summiteers Summit at Hotel Soaltee, He reflected on her two-decade journey in the mountains and urged young climbers, particularly women, to pursue ambitious goals with humility and discipline. “Courage has no gender,” she said, drawing loud applause from the audience.

She summitted Everest without supplemental oxygen on May 14, 2022 and became the first Chinese woman to do so.

She said her fascination with mountains began in 2006 after visiting China’s Qinling mountain range for the first time. The experience inspired her dream of climbing Sagarmatha, the world’s highest peak.

She formally began high-altitude mountaineering in 2012. “There is no shortcut to success,” she said. “Only discipline, dedication and strong determination can keep you moving forward.”

Between 2016 and 2025, He completed ascents of all 14 mountains higher than 8,000 metres without using bottled oxygen, becoming the first woman to achieve the feat. Guinness World Records recognised her achievement in 2025.

She described mountaineering not as a battle against nature but as a process of understanding human limits. “We cannot conquer mountains. The real challenge is understanding ourselves within the boundaries the mountains set for us,” she said.

She also spoke about the isolation, mental pressure and extreme conditions faced in high-altitude climbing, saying those experiences made her mentally stronger. Advising aspiring climbers, she encouraged them to adopt an ‘empty cup mindset’, remaining humble and open to learning after every success.

The famed Chinese climber thanked Nepal’s mountaineering community, tourism entrepreneurs and the government for bringing Everest climbers from around the world together to exchange experiences.

According to organisers, climbers from 20 countries are attending the summit organised by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and Everest Alliance during the spring climbing season. The conference includes discussions on climate change, mountain communities and technological changes in mountaineering. It is the second such summit organised jointly by the government and private sector.