São Paulo – Qatar’s Asma Al Thani aims to become the first woman from the Arab country to climb Mount Everest in April/May this year as part of her drive to inspire women and young people in the region to challenge stereotypes and fulfil their dreams, Qatar’s The Peninsula newspaper reported.
Al Thani is a director of Marketing and Communications at Qatar Olympic Committee and member of the Arab Gulf country’s royal family. Everest represents the toughest challenge yet on Al Thani’s journey to become the first woman from the Middle East to complete the Explorers Grand Slam, which involves climbing all of the Seven Summits and reaching the North Pole and South Pole. If successful, she would become the first Qatari woman in history to stand 8,849 meters above sea level.
“I have dreamed of climbing mountains ever since I was young. A dream which has always been ignited by my love of sport and its ability to inspire,” Al Thani told the newspaper.
In her extensive work within sport in Qatar, she says she has seen first-hand the powerful impact that sport and its incredible athletes can have on the lives of so many. “If they fall, they always get up and try harder. And if they lose, they always rise stronger. Ultimately, they inspire us all to be better versions of ourselves,” she said.
Al Thani added she climbs mountains because it challenges her limits. “And it is my hope that, by taking on the world’s highest mountains, I can challenge the stereotypical image of the traditional explorer and empower women and youth in the region to challenge themselves and dream bigger,” she said.
An avid adventurer, Al Thani has already completed three of the nine Explorers Grand Slam challenges. In 2018, she became the first Qatari to ski the last degree to the North Pole as part of an international team of women from across Europe and the Middle East, and the first Qatari woman to summit Aconcagua in 2019. Prior to this, in 2014, she was among the first group of Qatari women to summit Kilimanjaro.
“This has been a journey of firsts, but this is not my focus. My ultimate dream is to be the first of many Qatari women to achieve such feats. Together we can all work to inspire the next generation of women to achieve their dreams,” said Al Thani.
She will travel to Nepal on April 1st to begin her trek to Everest Basecamp for acclimatization, before attempting to summit Everest in mid-May if conditions allow.
Al Thani is a major advocate of female empowerment in the Middle East and has significant influence within the Qatari, regional and international sports world. As a senior female official in the Qatar Olympic Committee, she is heavily involved in, and a key driving force behind, major Qatari sports projects.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
