'I've been able to dream big': 62-year-old Canadian becomes oldest woman to summit K2 in Pakistan

An Oakville, Ont., woman became the oldest female to climb the second highest mountain in the world at the age of 62, after picking up Alpine climbing at 50.

Liliya Ianovskaia, not only managed to successfully summit Mount Everest in Nepal, she went on to climb two more mountains above 8,000 metres just weeks after.

Despite Mount Everest being the highest mountain on earth at 8,849 metres, K2 in Pakistan, the second highest peak, is known to be one of the most dangerous and difficult treks due to avalanches, steepness and unpredictable weather.

But Ianovskaia said that didn't stop her, and neither did her age.

"I don't see any limits really imposed by age, I feel strong … and I've been able to dream big," she said.

"And yeah, maybe it is bold sometimes, but so far I was able to achieve that. I think that age is not a limit, it's just a number."

On July 22, Ianovskaia scaled the 8,611-metre mountain in the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan. 

"Climbing K2 was amazing. I always wanted to go to Pakistan," Ianovskaia said.

"For years I was thinking about [it], but I thought, no, it is too difficult. It is too dangerous, too complicated [but] everything is possible."

Ianovskaia is the oldest woman to climb K2 and the first Canadian woman to summit the mountain, according to Germany-based researcher Eberhard Jurgalski and his team at 8,000'ers.com who study mountains above 8,000 metres.

On Aug. 8, Ianovskaia went on to tackle her fifth 8,000-metre plus peak, Gasherbrum II in the same region as K2 and is the 13th highest mountain in the world at 8,035 metres above sea level.

Ianovskaia, inspired by her youngest of three daughters Dasha, set a list of goals to achieve within a year on her 50th birthday. She didn't only crush