On the early morning of 17 May 2023 Gabriella Nel (BSci '19, MBBS '22), a UWA graduate and Joondalup Hospital junior medical doctor submitted the highest mountain in the world, Mt Everest. This making her the youngest medical doctor in the world to have conquered Mt Everest.

Her expedition began on 29 April 2023, when she landed in Kathmandu, Nepal, to start the rigorous preparation for the Everest Climb.
She was well- aware of the intense and meticulous planning needed, as she had attempted this climb in October 2022.

Gabriella’s journey up the mountain started on 12 May after completing the rotation to camp 3 to ensure the essential climatisation. With the predicated weather window opening on May15th she only had 2 days at base camp to recover before the push for the summit.

The summit plan was delayed at Camp 4 for 2 nights due to logistical concerns and bad weather. However, on the evening of the 16th of May Gabriella and her Sherpa Purba set off from Camp 4 for the summit peak.

With extremely cold weather and increased crowds on the mountain it became a rigorous challenge and dangerous climb to the top.
Gabriella successfully reached the 8 848m peak at 9h35 on May 17th, only 9 days after her 25th birthday.

This didn’t come without a price. She joined countless other climbers and sherpas with altitude sickness and frostbite on her descent, but Gaby is recovering well.