Angela Yeung made history as the first South African to climb Mount Manaslu at a height of 8,163 metres in the Nepalese Himalayas and for a great cause!
Nepal (19 October 2023) – Johannesburg-based jewellery designer and philanthropist Angela Yeung made history as the first South African to climb Mount Manaslu at a height of 8,163 metres in the Nepalese Himalayas.
The climb, while successful on the ascent, encountered significant challenges on the descent – and Yeung ended up enduring a frightening experience requiring helicopter assistance.
“After reaching the top, I had an accident when I made my descent – due to the severe snowy conditions and ice on the rope, which required an emergency helicopter airlift,” said Yeung upon her recent return to SA.
“I severely injured my foot when I started to go down, as the snow was blowing in my face so hard that I lost my balance.”
“We descended to 6,400 metres and were able to use the satellite phone used for emergencies. I had to force myself to walk down from Camp 4 to Camp 2, and my sherpas hardly spoke English, but they managed to organize a helicopter to get me from there to Base Camp – because there was no way they could carry me down.”
339 climbers from 47 countries around the world made the trek, with Yeung being the only participant from South Africa in a smaller group of six, partnering with The Sherpa Legends.
After she made the summit on 25 September, Yeung was airlifted to HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu for X-rays and treatment, prior to returning to Johannesburg late last week. She spent 630 hours training for the journey.
The 47-year-old raised funds in 2018 and 2019 for the Imbumba Foundation and Caring4Girls, empowering girls through menstrual education programmes, providing sanitary pads, and promoting positive body literacy.
In August 2022, Yeung’s Impilo Collection Foundation set a record when 6,200 bras were displayed at Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg during International Women’s Month, in her fight to support victims of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and build an educational centre.
This is her fourth fundraising climb, including summitting Island Peak and Mount Kilimanjaro.
“Climbing almost 2,000 metres higher than my last expedition, was a whole other ballgame,” explained Yeung. “Acclimatization to a higher altitude was much more challenging than before, and that’s why I injured my ankle on descent.”
Despite her foot injury, Yeung said she would do it again and hopes to summit Mount Everest next.
“I’m hoping to collect 8,848 bras – that’s the height of Mount Everest — for our next time, which I hope to climb next. It just depends on my injury and recovery time.”
Yeung is an ambassador of Brand South Africa and a renowned jewellery designer who presented her new collection of African-inspired bespoke pieces at Paris Fashion Week last year.
The mountain’s name Manaslu means “mountain of the spirit” and is derived from the Sanskrit word manasa, meaning “intellect” or “soul”.
She continued, “Knowing my ‘why‘ is the key…you have to be clear on the reason and the goal for the climb, which keeps you concentrating on your mission. Focusing on my goal and my spirit, helped me get through and survive.”
by 