Lent.az
Vafa Musayeva has made history as the female climber who conquered Everest on May 15.
In recent days, many sources, including the Azerbaijani press, have claimed that Musayeva is the first Azerbaijani woman to achieve this.
However, according to apasport.az's investigation, the first Azerbaijani woman to conquer Everest was Elmira Aslanova. She climbed to the summit of Everest with the Azerbaijani flag in 2023.
In a statement to our website, Aslanova stated that she was the first Azerbaijani woman to climb Everest:
"On May 19, 2023, I conquered Everest with the Azerbaijani flag and a Ukrainian passport, but I was hoping to get an Azerbaijani passport in the near future. Because I was born in Azerbaijan, this is my homeland. The "Himalayan Database" has a rule: if you climbed to the summit with a flag and even sent your passport later (and no one climbed to the summit with that country's passport), then you are officially entered into the system with that passport and that flag.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan supported me. We made a film about Everest and my journey. The premiere will be in early June. The Ministry of Youth and Sports issued me an Azerbaijani passport on 25.04.2025. So, I had the opportunity not only to officially climb the mountains and represent Azerbaijan, but also to formalize my ascent to Everest as the first Azerbaijani woman. Now, the official source, "Himalayan Database", presents me as the first Azerbaijani woman to climb Everest."
It should be noted that the official source (ed. - "Himalayan Database") shows that the first Azerbaijani woman to conquer Everest was Elmira Aslanova.
