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Naoko Watanabe Sets Guinness Record, First Woman K2 Triple Summit

5/23/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Naoko Watanabe became the first woman to summit K2 three times, a Guinness World Record.
She will lead a June 2026 trek to Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat, hosting amateur trekkers at base camp.
Watanabe began climbing at age three after her mother enrolled her in a children’s adventure club.
In October 2024 she completed all fourteen eight-thousand-meter peaks, becoming the first Japanese woman to do so.

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Story summary

Naoko Watanabe became the first woman to summit K2 three times, a Guinness World Record.
She will lead a June 2026 trek to Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat, hosting amateur trekkers at base camp.
Watanabe began climbing at age three after her mother enrolled her in a children’s adventure club.
In October 2024 she completed all fourteen eight-thousand-meter peaks, becoming the first Japanese woman to do so.