{{Short description|Lithuanian mountaineer}} {{Infobox person | name = Edita Horrell | image = Edita Nichols.jpg | caption = | birth_date = | birth_place = Lithuania | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Mountaineer, Aid worker | website = }}
'''Edita Horrell''' (née Uksaitė), previously known as '''Edita Nichols''', is a Lithuanian-born mountaineer and humanitarian aid worker. She became the first Lithuanian woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on 22 May 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.altitudejunkies.com/dispatcheverest13.html |work=Altitude Junkies website |title=Everest 2013 Expedition Dispatches |accessdate=8 December 2015 }}</ref>
== Biography == Edita Horrell is a humanitarian aid worker employed by the World Food Programme (WFP), whom she has worked for since 2010. She has been deployed to Haiti, Niger, the Philippines, South Sudan, Zambia, Guinea, Nepal, Ecuador, Chad and the Central African Republic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wfp.org/node/448892 |work=World Food Programme website |title=WFP Logistician Climbs Mount Everest |accessdate=8 December 2015 }}</ref>
She began her career as a mountaineer following her ascent of Kilimanjaro in 2010. She has made successful ascents of three 8000m peaks - Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Everest. She survived an avalanche on Manaslu in 2012, when she was catapulted for several metres inside her tent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.altitudejunkies.com/dispatchmanaslu12.html |work=Altitude Junkies website |title=Manaslu 2012 Expedition Dispatches |accessdate=8 December 2015 }}</ref>
She made two unsuccessful attempts on a fourth 8000m peak, Lhotse, in 2014 and 2015. Both of these expeditions were cut short by major tragedies. In 2015, she narrowly avoided another avalanche at Everest Base Camp, when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake caused a serac to collapse on nearby Pumori. After the earthquake, she spent two months in Nepal working on the emergency response for the World Food Programme.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://editanichols.com/lhotse-2014-8516m/ |work=Edita Nichols – "Intotheblu's Blog" |title=Lhotse (8,516m) 2014 Closed |accessdate=8 December 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://editanichols.com/2015/05/02/the-day-everest-came-tumbling-down/ |work=Edita Nichols – "Intotheblu's Blog"|title=The day Everest came tumbling down |accessdate=8 December 2015 }}</ref>
In 2014, she was part of an international team which measured and identified Mafinga Central as the highest point in Zambia.<ref name=tg3>{{cite web |url= http://www.markhorrell.com/blog/2014/mafinga-south-and-mafinga-central-the-highest-peaks-in-zambia/ |work=Footsteps on the Mountain blog | title= Mafinga South and Mafinga Central: the highest peaks in Zambia| date=8 December 2015}}</ref>
In 2016, she was mountaineering in Ecuador when another 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck. Once again she remained in the country to assist with the humanitarian response for WFP.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://editanichols.com/2016/08/13/my-ecuador-volcano-adventure-and-beyond-final/ |work=Edita Nichols – "Intotheblu's Blog"|title=My Ecuador Volcano Adventure and Beyond |accessdate=26 August 2016 }}</ref>
In September 2017, she made what is believed to be the first ever ascent of Chimborazo from sea to summit, starting from Guayaquil, then completing a full circuit of the mountain before climbing to the summit.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.markhorrell.com/blog/2017/is-this-the-worlds-first-ascent-of-chimborazo-from-sea-to-summit/ |work=Footsteps on the Mountain blog | title= Is this the world's first ascent of Chimborazo from sea to summit?| date=27 February 2018}}</ref>
== Successful climbs == * '''2010''' Kilimanjaro (5895 m) Tanzania, the highest mountain in Africa. * '''2011''' Mera Peak (6476 m) Nepal. * '''2011''' Mont Blanc (4810 m) France, the highest mountain in Western Europe. * '''2011''' Cho Oyu (8201 m) Tibet, the sixth highest mountain in the world. * '''2012''' Aconcagua (6962 m) Argentina, the highest mountain in South America. * '''2012''' Manaslu (8163 m) Nepal, the eighth highest mountain in the world. * '''2013''' Mount Everest (8848 m) Tibet, the highest mountain in the world. * '''2016''' Cayambe (5790 m) Ecuador, the highest mountain directly on the Equator. * '''2016''' and '''2017''' Chimborazo (6310 m) Ecuador, the highest mountain from the Earth's centre. * '''2016''' Antisana (5704 m) Ecuador, the fourth highest mountain in Ecuador.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://editanichols.com/ |title=Edita Nichols – "Intotheblu's Blog" |accessdate=8 December 2015 }}</ref> * '''2019''' Ojos del Salado (6893 m) Chile, the highest volcano in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.markhorrell.com/blog/2019/salt-before-breakfast-an-ascent-of-ojos-del-salado/ |work=Footsteps on the Mountain blog | title= Salt before breakfast: an ascent of Ojos del Salado | date=22 June 2019}}</ref>
== External links == *[http://www.editanichols.com/ Edita Nichols – "Intotheblu's Blog"]
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Horrell, Edita}} Category:Living people Category:Summiteers of Mount Everest Category:Lithuanian mountain climbers Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Lithuanian female climbers