Nõulik's companion on high was her husband Uko Nõulik. The couple reached Tibet on April 14 and spent two days getting used to the high altitude at Nyalam, situated 3,700 meters above the sea level, according to the couple's blog.

The Nõuliks ventured from Nyalam to Tingri via car, after which they traveled by foot to Cho Oyu base camps. Their ascent to the peak of the sixth highest mountain began on May 9, reaching the top today, 09:30 local time. The climbing weather last night was 40 degrees below zero with winds blowing at 8-11 m/s.

The mountain was mostly covered by just ice and rocks and little snow, making the climbing process hard, they wrote. On a clear day, Mt. Everest can be seen from the peak of Cho Oyu. This time however, the couple's high achievement was met with cloudy weather and an oncoming snowstorm.

The couple is expected to return to Estonia on May 26.

A previous version of this story stated that Nõulik was the first women to reach 8,000 meters in general, but according to Postimees this title belongs to Helme Suuk, who reached that altitude during a climb in the late 1990s but did not make the summit.