90 meters from breaking the record, yet she chose retreat over summit
The entire team had already announced the news—90 meters from breaking the Everest speed-climbing world record—but Ada decided to descend with the Sherpas because she would not risk even a 1 percent chance of someone never leaving the mountain.
The video won't play here. Listen to the audio instead:
The argument · tap a timestamp to hear it
90 meters from breaking the record, yet she chose retreat over summit
Ada's first speed-climbing attempt had the team announcing her success in advance—teammates told friends before she summited that she had made it. Near 8,000 meters, weather turned. Blizzard wind left her unable to open her eyes; snowdrift reached her thighs. The summit was nearly in sight, 90 meters away from breaking the world record. She and the Sherpa locked eyes and decided together to descend. Later, she explained: even a 1 percent risk that someone would never leave the mountain was not acceptable. Five or six days later, the same team set out again, successfully summited, and set the new record.
— Ada Zeng YanhongTwo years of failure on five mountains before one success
Before formally attempting Everest, Ada spent two full years on five or six peaks without a single summit. On Siguniang Mountain's second peak, heavy snow stopped her at 4,800 meters. The third peak's snow was so thick she couldn't reach base camp. One mountain saw her stalled 100 meters from the top for an hour and a half by high winds. She didn't blame the team or weather. Instead, she explained each failure to her students—this was the five-year pact she'd made with them: the process mattered more than the summit.
— Ada Zeng YanhongThe earthquake turned the tent into a clothes washer with her inside it
April 25, 2015, midday. Ada was at Everest base camp when the Nepal earthquake triggered an avalanche. Decades of accumulated snow from the opposite peak rushed toward camp like a bomb. She ran into the dining tent; the avalanche's force picked it up and it tumbled repeatedly, with knives and cups inside. She described herself being spun like clothes in a washing machine. Her head was split open with a scar 6 centimeters long that remains today; doctors found she had lost approximately 2 liters of blood. Teammates sent her family messages that night saying they should prepare for the worst. She lost all memory of the event, yet woke herself up from her sleeping bag the next morning.
— Ada Zeng YanhongEmotion and sleep, not exercise, are what recovery actually requires
During recovery, Ada refused to make any decisions while her body or mind was unstable. She focused on one goal: complete healing. Her doctor noted she never took out her phone, returning to the hotel to sleep after each treatment, then cycling the next day. She proposed a formula: physical health equals exercise plus diet plus sleep plus emotion—but emotion and sleep are the real keys, accounting for roughly 80 percent; exercise gets overestimated only because it's easiest to measure and do. Three or four months after injury, she rode round trip to Wuling at 4,000-plus meters. Before a year passed, she completed the Hong Kong 100—100 kilometers in just over 13 hours—placing 10th overall, 1st among Hong Kong runners.
— Ada Zeng YanhongSchool forced her to resign; it redefined what being a teacher means
After Ada's second failed Everest attempt, her school demanded she resign if she wanted to try again, citing repeated absences that undermined teaching. She said this was the one thing she hadn't anticipated in her climbing plan—the hardest thing to overcome. Teaching wasn't just a job; it was the foundation of all her values. Her mother supported her: ‘You're only leaving the job. You're still a teacher.’ Later, the Hong Kong government wanted to give Ada the education sector's annual leadership award. She initially refused, saying she was no longer a teacher. They replied: education doesn't have to happen in a classroom.
— Ada Zeng YanhongShe turned down all sponsorships to avoid being frozen at the peak
After summiting Everest and setting the speed record, brands approached Ada with sponsorship offers, usually requiring her to promote them on social media. She refused all of them. The reason: sponsors will shape you into a ‘world champion’ image, pin you permanently to a peak narrative, and never let you come down. What she wanted was to come down from the summit and do the next thing. She's never posted about the summit on any social media, never reads comments about herself.
— Ada Zeng YanhongBuilding a women's climbing team proved harder than climbing the mountain
In 2019, Ada led three Chinese women to summit Everest. But she's candid: organizing this team was far harder than her own summit. Domestic society doesn't embrace women climbing Everest—some see it as recklessness. Sponsors don't believe a women's climbing team has commercial value. One teammate nearly quit because she couldn't raise funds. Ada ended up lending her own money to fill the gap and complete the team before departure.
— Ada Zeng YanhongTo start mountaineering, first test whether you can sleep outdoors for days
For people with no background wanting to approach snow mountains, Ada's advice: mountains welcome all body types, genders, and backgrounds; success doesn't mean running fastest or being strongest. Two things matter. First: basic comfort with snow and rock—learn rock climbing, ice climbing, skiing first. Second: can you sleep continuously in a tent outdoors for two or three nights? Real mountaineering can mean spending a month and a half in the wilderness. Start with peaks like Siguniang Big Peak in Sichuan—5,000-meter peaks where you can gauge your mental state and energy expenditure at altitude before deciding whether to go higher.
— Ada Zeng YanhongIn their own words · checked verbatim
I knew there was a 50 percent chance someone wouldn't come down the mountain, but I told myself: even if it's just 1 percent, I won't risk it.
我知道我们有百分之 可能50的机会 有一个人会永远留在山上 但我跟自己说 哪怕只有百分之一 我都不干
Ada Zeng Yanhong5:03
I reminded myself then: the only thing I cannot do is give up. If I did, it would be an awful lesson to teach.
那当时我就提醒自己 我唯一不能做的就是放弃 如果是这样的话 那就是一个非常差一节课了
Ada Zeng Yanhong18:10
I ran into our dining tent. It was like being inside a washing machine—the tent kept spinning and rolling.
我跑到我们的餐厂里面 然后跑进去 那就像一个洗衣机 这个餐厂里面就不停地滚动
Ada Zeng Yanhong22:12
People say health is exercise, diet, and sleep. But I think you have to add emotion. That's the critical piece—emotion affects sleep. If you get those two right, roughly 80 percent of health follows.
很多人就说健康嘛 就是运动 饮食跟睡眠嘛 其实我觉得一个人身体健康 要加情绪 这是一个很关键的 因为情绪会影响你睡眠 做好这两个 基本上你可能 80%都没问题
Ada Zeng Yanhong33:19
I might make decisions impulsively, but I spend 99 percent of the time paying for that 1 percent of impulse with action and groundwork.
虽然我做决策是冲动的 我经常是用99%的时间 行动各方面来买单我 1%的冲动的
Ada Zeng Yanhong43:27
What I'm most afraid of is this: when someone sponsors you, they'll keep you frozen at the peak. They'll craft an image—you're amazing, you're number one at this, first at that—and that pins you there forever. You can never come down.
我最怕的是什么 当别人赞助你 他会永远把你放在顶峰上面的 就会帮你做一个形象 就是你很厉害 你是世界第一 你是什么第一 这个第一那个第一 让你永远停留在那个点 你下不来的
Ada Zeng Yanhong50:34
I never imagined that organizing a women's climbing team would be this difficult. It's far harder than I expected—harder even than climbing Everest.
我没有想过啊原来组织一个女子登山队这么难 比我想象中难很多 比登珠峰还难
Ada Zeng Yanhong55:36
Much of the time, our fear isn't from the objective environment that actually exists. Much of our fear comes from our thoughts about what we don't know.
所以很多时候的恐惧 不是真的客观存在那个环境 很多恐惧就是来自我们的 对这未知的想法
Ada Zeng Yanhong1:04:40
Figures
| Normal Everest climb time | 3-5 days | 2:02 |
| Ada's final speed-climb time | 25 hours 50 minutes | 2:02 |
| Men's speed-climbing record at the time | 8 hours | 2:02 |
| Time from deciding to climb to first summit | 7 years (with only one success during that period) | 3:03 |
| Estimated blood loss during Nepal earthquake | approximately 2 liters | 27:16 |
| Head scar length | 6 centimeters | 22:12 |
| Hong Kong 100 completion time and placement after injury | just over 13 hours, 10th overall, 1st in Hong Kong | 30:19 |
| Chinese women's team members summiting Everest in 2019 | 3 people (including Ada) | 55:36 |
| Ada's assessment of emotion and sleep as percentage of health | approximately 80% | 33:19 |
Glossary
- PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
- Persistent stress responses following major traumatic events.
- Free Solo
- Documentary about Alex Honnold's unprotected solo rock climbing.
- Aim High, Achieve High
- Ada's personal philosophy—setting audacious goals creates the conditions to approach them.
How to listen
Entrepreneurs and investors curious about the real trade-offs in extreme decisions; anyone grappling with failure, recovery, or reinvention of professional identity.