Muscat: The first Omani woman to climb Mount Everest Nadhira Al Harthy said the experience was life-changing. In 2019, when Nadhira climbed Mount Everest, it was a culmination of various experiences that started from the time she began her training.
“I was 42 when I achieved this feat, two years after I expressed my desire to climb Mount Everest. It all started when I met my late mentor and coach Khalid Al Siyabi, who is the first Omani man to climb Mount Everest, for a project I was doing then. I was inspired by the narration of his experience. When I told him that I too want to climb the mountains, he was very positive.”
Nadhira took it as a sign to change her life and improve her personality. But it was much easier said than done, especially with no prior training as an athlete. “I was not even a regular gym-goer. I had to start everything - from fitness training and hiking regimen.”
Training and determination start
Her mentor and coach Khalid Al Siyabi introduced her to a peer group of mountaineers, and hikers whose advise and suggestions Nadhira followed diligently. She had an inkling earlier, in 2015 when she attempted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania with a group of students on a project of Ministry of Education, where she works now. But she couldn’t complete the summit due to altitude sickness.
In 2018, Nadhira attempted to climb Mount Ama Dablam in Nepal, which is another peak known for its tough terrain. With no successful summits to list nor family support, Nadhira resolved even harder to achieve the Everest climb. “My family accepted my endeavours seeing how focused I was on my mission, but were not too happy with my decision. Even as I was training for Mount Everest, I had kept it from them. The sheer magnitude of my attempt was too big even for me.”
Exhilaration atop Mount Everest
“After spending two months of training out of which 50 days were at base camp, just going up and down between base camps and ranges, I finally summitted Mount Everest. The feeling of exhilaration you get as you summit the snow-capped peak cannot be described in words. It changes you, for better and it changed me. I know now that if you feel strong enough to do something, you can do it. We are in control of our limits.”
This year Nadhira added one more feather to her cap when she became the first Omani woman to climb Mount Ama Dablom. Her dream is to climb 14 peaks around the world that are above 8,000 metres. “Two done, twelve more to go,” she quipped.
