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Meet the women mountaineers from the UAE who trekked Mt. Everest and returned home after a safe descent from the Himalayan mountains
See more at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Meet the women mountaineers from the UAE who trekked Mt. Everest and returned home after a safe descent from the Himalayan mountains
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00:00Three women from the UAE decided to scale the highest peak in the world, which is Mount Everest.
00:06Two of them successfully climbed the peak and one came close to Camp 4,
00:13which is the last stop before reaching the summit.
00:16All three of them have done us proud and they have achieved a mammoth feat, so congratulations.
00:25And today at Gulf News we have two of the adventurers from the UAE, Fatima Deryan and Khadija Turki,
00:33to talk about their challenges, to talk about their journey, their experience and how they achieved it all.
00:40So firstly, let me congratulate both of you. You've done immensely great.
00:47And you've actually, you know, been able to achieve your passion and came out glorious in all of this.
00:55So let's start. And we have been tracking your journey, Khadija, the last two months.
01:02You started off on 8th of April.
01:08So we'll start with you and you know how it was and then we'll come to Fatima.
01:14It was one of the toughest things that I've ever done in my whole life, to be quite honest.
01:19Preparation for it started a year back when I decided that I'm going to try to summit Everest.
01:28And I came to know Mustafa a year ago as well. I met him in Kathmandu.
01:37And to me, now that it's over and it's done, everything happened for a reason.
01:45Last year I was in April, I was with a group of friends climbing base camp.
01:54We decided that we did Kilimanjaro in January and then we decided that we're doing base camp in April.
02:00And that was the only time available because it's seasonal, mountaineering is seasonal.
02:07And we couldn't wait for another year.
02:09So and then when we finished, I came across Mustafa.
02:15And that was the first time that I was introduced to him.
02:18He was trying to put a group of female, Middle Eastern female ladies to be the first group to climb Everest.
02:26And I decided that year that I'm going to scale, try to attempt to scale Everest.
02:34And that's how we met.
02:36And since then, we've been working on getting the sponsorship because it's not an easy task to do.
02:42And you would require a lot of funding to spend two months in Everest just trying to summit that mountain.
02:55So the training started, the diet started, the hunting for sponsors started.
03:05And then we tried to scale it but I came back as you mentioned from camp due to weather conditions and to my health as well.
03:16Which was really close, I mean you were just one stop away.
03:20I know.
03:21And so that's still a great achievement.
03:24It does.
03:25It did hurt at the beginning.
03:27But then when I came down, when I started coming down from camp four on the way to camp three,
03:32and I remembered the steps that I took to go up.
03:37And then it's harder to get down.
03:39It's much, much harder.
03:41So I made peace with it then.
03:44Because I discovered that my health is more important.
03:48Have I wasted that energy going up to the summit?
03:54I would have died on my way back coming down.
03:56It was that severe for me.
03:58And I just want to say something no one knows, perhaps a lot of people do not know.
04:03I'm a thalassemia carrier.
04:05And for a thalassemia carrier to get to 8,000 plus, that's a personal achievement before anything else.
04:13Because thalassemia carriers are a bit more fatigue than the normal people.
04:20And we get tired easier than the normal people because of the blood conditions that we carry.
04:27And for me to be able to...
04:29And I've totally ignored that fact when I decided to attempt to do this challenge.
04:37And I never thought that it would hit me hard.
04:41But it did that, 8,000 meters.
04:46And I'm very grateful that it didn't come earlier.
04:50But I needed more time for my body to recover.
04:55And it wouldn't have happened if I went to the summit and I came back.
05:02So this prepares me to be aware of my condition, my blood condition.
05:08And it never stopped me before from scaling other mountains when I wanted to.
05:15But this is the highest that I have done.
05:17And I'm grateful that I was able to get to that level.
05:22However, this is a lesson that I've learned that for next year when I try Everest again,
05:29I'll have to be more prepared and perhaps take my training a bit more serious.
05:34Though my training was serious.
05:36But then with the blood condition, I'll have to try something else next time.
05:41And I'm sure you'll come out a winner next time.
05:44And I wish you all the best from now itself.
05:46It's amazing.
05:47I just heard about the fact that you are a talisman carrier.
05:52So for me, it just means that you've achieved it a lot more and a lot better.
05:58So coming to you, Fatima.
06:00You're just 26.
06:02And you've achieved the mammoth task.
06:05So tell us about it.
06:06How does it feel?
06:08So it definitely feels amazing.
06:11I went with the mindset of I want to see the world from the top.
06:15It's been a dream since I was 14.
06:17Ever since I flew over Everest with my family.
06:20And it was a dormant dream.
06:23Until once I saw a motivational speech by Omar Samra.
06:28And he woke it up all again.
06:31And this is when I started climbing again.
06:33I went to Everest as the first mountain was the highest mountain I would ever climb.
06:40And then I got to understand about the Seven Summits.
06:44The South Pole, North Pole.
06:46All these stuff.
06:47And then I got really into it.
06:48Because I felt my body was actually made for the mountains.
06:52I felt like my legs are meant to be there.
06:56So I decided to go to Everest by the end of December.
07:02Everything fell into place.
07:03My plan wasn't to go this year.
07:05My plan was to go in another 3 to 4 years.
07:08But on my birthday, my family announced they're willing to support me towards my dream to make it sooner.
07:15That is so amazing.
07:16That is an awesome gift, right?
07:18It's amazing.
07:19And my dad is a very smart man.
07:22We're in the cleaning industry.
07:24So we decided to do a study on how to get the trash of Everest.
07:29Because he had seen some pictures.
07:31And I'm running my own online cleaning company now as well.
07:36Everything fell into place as if it was meant to happen.
07:41We funded it.
07:42And I found myself on Everest by March.
07:46Wow, amazing.
07:47Talking about funding.
07:49You were totally on your own.
07:50You didn't have a sponsor.
07:52It was your family which helped you.
07:56I have enough savings.
07:58I used to have a proper career before I started mountaineering.
08:02But I quit for mountains.
08:04I joined the family business for time and flexibility.
08:07And continued saving for that dream.
08:10But then I was short on my down payment.
08:14So I got this major support from the family.
08:17And I continued making money through my work.
08:20And I didn't go with a super expensive expedition.
08:25But it's still really expensive.
08:27How expensive was it?
08:29It was $50,000 for my expedition.
08:33And this includes your hotel stay?
08:36No, it's just the expedition.
08:38As in getting the permits?
08:41So the permit is part of it.
08:43Which is $11,000.
08:45Otherwise everything goes to the expedition logistic operator.
08:51Who puts together the food.
08:53Who makes the decision about the weather.
08:55Your tents.
08:56Your life basically for two months.
08:58The Sherpas.
09:00Majorly the Sherpas of course.
09:03So yeah, it's like Everest was calling me in my opinion.
09:07It wasn't planned and it was last minute in December.
09:11And what's the most expensive as part of the expedition?
09:16Is it the permit?
09:17Yeah, the permit.
09:19So do you have a breakdown of what the cost is?
09:22I wouldn't give you the exact breakdown.
09:25But as I said, you have $11,000 for the permit.
09:28You're paying for your home basically.
09:30You're renting a house which is your tent.
09:32They're cooking for you three meals a day at least.
09:35They're giving you your snacks.
09:37They're giving you guidance.
09:39They're vast experience.
09:41They're giving you the Sherpa.
09:43Your oxygen bottle costs a lot.
09:45How much does the oxygen bottle cost?
09:48My oxygen bottle costs $6,000.
09:52And so it's one bottle that you carry?
09:56No, so I had five bottles.
10:00And every time a bottle is almost at its end, we switch it.
10:05But I use bottles personally from Camp 3 to the summit and back.
10:09Oh, okay.
10:10Yeah, I was coming to that.
10:11Like when do you use it?
10:12So it's typically in Camp 3?
10:13Yeah.
10:14And in terms of the preparations before,
10:17in terms of getting yourself fit, your health,
10:21what were some of the things that you did?
10:25Yeah, so to prepare for Everest,
10:28I think I've been climbing for four years.
10:30Preparing for Everest is more mental.
10:32Physical, you need to have a minimum level of fitness to start with.
10:36So I would train like anyone would train for anything, right?
10:39But I would work harder on my endurance.
10:42Otherwise, I was running three times a week, 10K.
10:46I was doing strength training in the morning and some cardio in the afternoon.
10:50So a mix of strength and cardio and endurance.
10:55But I believe, in my opinion, to train for any mountain,
10:59you have to be on another mountain because you need to experience
11:03what does it feel like to sleep on the floor in a tent?
11:05What does it feel like to sleep in a sub-zero environment?
11:09Eating basic food, not having like the fancy food you usually have.
11:13Being out of your comfort zone itself is the right way to prepare you for stuff like this.
11:19And through my four years experience on different mountains,
11:23I've done around like 17 mountains before Everest.
11:25I think this is what really prepared me for the big one.
11:29Yeah, exactly.
11:31Because Everest is pretty much, I think it's pretty much like the Oscars.
11:35So it's the ultimate win. It's the ultimate glory.
11:38And you have to really tackle other mountains and other peaks to be able to do that.
11:43And both of you have quite a bit of experience doing that.
11:47But was Everest like a whole different challenge?
11:51It's simply because of its height.
11:53To me, Everest was a totally different challenge
11:57because it's the altitude. I've never been to that altitude before.
12:02And the duration as well.
12:05You're away from home for almost two months.
12:09So it was just getting myself prepared for the fact that I'm going to be away
12:15for that whole duration.
12:17And I had to quit my job, to be quite honest.
12:21I quit my job for this.
12:23And you did too?
12:25You quit your job like this?
12:27Wow.
12:29Did you get back though?
12:31Well, they called me back.
12:33They called me back to be a part-time teacher in the college,
12:37which I'm loving.
12:39And I don't regret the decision of leaving my job,
12:43though I love my job.
12:45I loved working in the tourism industry.
12:47But then I decided that Everest has the priority
12:52and I'll have to put all of my efforts into that expedition
12:56to get my mindset away from my daily routine
13:01and the aspects of work and these sort of things.
13:05And then they called me.
13:07They suggested that I join the college
13:09because we've started a tourism college at Dubai Tourism.
13:14So for the uninitiated, you are a teacher in tourism?
13:20Yes, part-time teacher.
13:22So I gave it a shot.
13:24I said, why not?
13:26I was at the point
13:28that I'm willing to try something new
13:30and I've always been wanting to try something new.
13:34You wouldn't know unless you try.
13:36And I fell in love with it.
13:38It's really something that
13:41it's nice for you to give back to the industry
13:46and to train
13:48because we lack in the hospitality section,
13:50we lack those kids who have been here in Dubai
13:55and who have their hidden gems
13:57and they can sell Dubai
13:59and be the ambassadors of Dubai better
14:02because they're the frontliners.
14:04All what they lack is the skills
14:06and the knowledge of how to deal with people
14:09and being
14:11I would call myself an expert
14:13in the tourism industry
14:15I wanted to give that back
14:17to Dubai specifically
14:19and UAE
14:21We're going to train
14:23the residents of Dubai
14:25we're going to train those kids
14:27who their family wants them to stay over here
14:29instead of going and studying abroad
14:31and give back to the community.
14:33Take a year or two
14:35invest in yourself
14:38as an individual
14:40gain that experience
14:42in the industry section
14:44and it shapes you up
14:46because you're always in the front line
14:48and you're dealing with people
14:50but to tell the story of Dubai
14:52and to tell that narrative
14:54in your own story
14:56from your background
14:58as someone who was born
15:00and got raised over here
15:02is something that
15:04I was really passionate about
15:06and the skills
15:08and what requires them to do that
15:10in the right manner
15:12and as professional as possible
15:14is something that I've really
15:16enjoyed doing
15:18so I taught
15:20the first course I taught
15:22was the impact of tourism
15:24and it touches a lot on the environment
15:26and our impact on the environment
15:28as individuals in the industry
15:30and the second term
15:32I was teaching them tour guiding
15:35it does refresh my memory
15:37for things that I know
15:39in the industry
15:41and it kept me on edge
15:43to be quite honest
15:45it's not an easy job to teach
15:47it's a great responsibility
15:49and I had to watch
15:51my manners
15:53I have good manners
15:55you do
15:57you're in front of kids
15:59you're a bit more
16:01sensitive about
16:04you have to be careful of the words that you choose
16:06and the vocabs that you
16:08try to get them
16:10to adapt as well
16:12so I loved it
16:14then September comes and I don't know
16:16what I'm teaching, if they want me back or not
16:18but going back to the question
16:20sorry I diverted
16:22Everest was a different challenge
16:24for me
16:26I haven't done the altitude
16:28itself but
16:30as Dima has mentioned
16:32one of the best things that you do
16:34to prepare yourself for a mountain
16:36is to climb other mountains
16:38because you get to understand that
16:40unless you eat and you give your body
16:42the fuel it needs
16:44you won't be able to have the strength
16:46to go on
16:48regardless of your mental state
16:50and regardless of your physical state
16:52you need to fuel this body
16:54and with the altitude
16:56change
16:58you get to a point where you can't even eat
17:01and you end up forcing yourself
17:03to eat a food that you're not familiar with
17:05and you're bored
17:07of as well
17:09but you have to take it
17:11otherwise you wouldn't give
17:13your energy
17:15enough fueling
17:17is there a special diet
17:19that you need to follow when you're
17:21climbing such a high peak
17:23is there a special
17:25do you need to take it
17:27you just need to eat a lot of carbs
17:29protein is really hard to digest on altitude
17:31so we focus a lot of pasta
17:33so we would have
17:35pasta, rice, potato
17:37in one plate
17:39and then a little bit of noodles
17:43all sorts of carbs
17:45because that's the most that can store your energy
17:47otherwise there's nothing really specific
17:49on high camps
17:51it's different because nobody's cooking
17:53so we would have snacks
17:55most of the time
17:58we had a cook
18:00so we eat proper food
18:02proper as in like noodles
18:04so it's alright
18:06to indulge in your cookies
18:08yes a lot
18:10if you can eat
18:12all the time
18:14it's really hard to eat
18:16everything that looks really appealing
18:18and unhealthy here is really healthy
18:20for you
18:22it's like the complete opposite
18:24and you need to force it
18:27because at one point
18:29you just want to be able to breathe
18:31normally
18:33forget food
18:35energy
18:37imagine you're walking in an environment
18:39that has around
18:4160% oxygen
18:43let's say we're going from camp 1
18:45to camp 2
18:4760% oxygen
18:49a little bit more or less
18:51I'm not precise in the numbers
18:53compared to the sea level
18:55so your body is burning
18:57double what you burn
18:59every step
19:01if you burn one here
19:03you burn probably 2 or 3
19:05you need to refuel that
19:07and it's not easy to eat
19:09because on altitude
19:11your appetite shuts down
19:13and you need to have at least 4 liters of water
19:15so your body becomes like a machine
19:17that you really need to maintain
19:19that's burning so much
19:21you're also burning while sleeping
19:24your heart is working
19:26triple maybe
19:28all your organs are overworking
19:30itself
19:32so you're burning all the time
19:34so imagine how much food you need to have
19:36from what I'm hearing
19:38I really think that
19:40one has to be super fit
19:42to be able to tackle a peak like this
19:44so are there tests
19:46are there
19:48screening done by
19:50the Mount Everest organizers
19:52to ensure that people going there
19:54are fit enough for it
19:56because I believe that
19:58only a super fit person
20:00can really be there
20:02they've asked us to send them
20:04certificates stating that
20:06we are physically fit
20:08so I did a medical check over here
20:10in Dubai
20:12and I've sent a certificate
20:14over across to the ministry
20:16to certify the permits
20:18I don't know what happened with you
20:21same thing with us
20:23we have this medical paper
20:25that we need to fill and stamp by a doctor
20:27but otherwise I don't think
20:29in my opinion that's enough
20:31that's all they ask for
20:33that certificate
20:35anybody can play around with it
20:37if they really want to do Everest
20:39on Everest itself
20:41only if you get sick
20:43there's something called the Everest ER
20:45where they can give you basic medications
20:47and treatment
20:50that proves 100%
20:52you are ready for Everest
20:54and in terms of
20:56your own kit
20:58you carry some basic essentials
21:00I'm presuming
21:02what is that
21:04what did you ladies carry with you
21:06just to be prepared
21:08for
21:10painkillers
21:12painkillers
21:14ok
21:16I took Diamox with me
21:18but I didn't take it
21:20I hide it with me
21:22just in case
21:24what's the most
21:26beautiful thing
21:28because I saw your pictures and videos
21:30the scenery is awesome
21:32so what did
21:34you ladies really like
21:36in the journey
21:38was it the scenery
21:40besides the adventure
21:42I've fallen in love with Allah
21:44over and over again
21:47because
21:49the beauty of your surroundings
21:51is amazing
21:53and I got to a point where
21:55I was just talking to the mountain
21:57and I was like
21:59the same creator have created both of us
22:01we must be beautiful
22:03all of us
22:05it's a good point
22:07for you to meditate
22:09because you can meditate
22:11while you are with yourself
22:13throughout the journey
22:15they play their music
22:17and they
22:19zone out
22:21because that's what I do
22:23even when you are zoning out
22:25you are with your thoughts
22:27especially walking from camp 1
22:29to camp 2
22:31when you are in between all those mountains
22:33on that trail
22:35it's beautiful
22:37and it's white all around you
22:39it was like
22:41those cookies
22:44it was a mix of Oreos
22:46and you can tell that I'm hungry
22:48and I
22:50saw some beautiful people
22:52you met like really sweet natives
22:54I mean perched up
22:56there and 4000 meters
22:58I mean like imagine people living
23:00there they have a life
23:02they have an existence
23:04that must have really taken you
23:06pleasantly surprised
23:08I mean people were nice
23:10every camp that we went to
23:13every village we went to
23:15before we came to the base camp
23:17people were nice
23:19Nepalis are genuinely humble
23:21they are just humble people
23:23I think this is what mountains does
23:25to human beings
23:27so cute
23:29they look adorable
23:31that's true
23:33and the Sherpas
23:35they are amazing
23:37you guys had a Sherpa
23:39so how are they
23:41I mean the strength
23:43their endurance
23:45their level of adaptation
23:47to the different climbers
23:49that they take
23:51and then they help you
23:53even if they are not your Sherpas
23:55it comes at one point
23:57where you are tired
23:59you are not even able to clip
24:01out and clip in
24:03but they will still help you
24:05even if they are not your Sherpas
24:07and then the level of their endurance
24:10the food they eat
24:12I think there is something
24:14about Sherpas
24:16nobody would climb Everest
24:18if it wasn't for the Sherpas
24:20Everest would not be
24:22so there are maybe 1%
24:24who can do it obviously without their Sherpas
24:26but otherwise nobody is without a Sherpa
24:28you don't see anyone on the mountain
24:30without a Sherpa
24:32the Sherpa would put your life
24:34before his life
24:36at one point he would unclip
24:38and he doesn't know me
24:40at the beginning
24:42we got to know each other
24:44at the beginning of the trip
24:46but by the end of the trip
24:48you feel like you are family
24:50you climb together
24:52he sometimes wakes you up
24:54he sometimes gives you the right medications
24:56when they see me coughing
24:58they would sit and tell me
25:00I need to take ginger
25:02they would act as if they are
25:04your mentor
25:07they would carry your backpacks
25:09at one point
25:11if you can't carry it
25:13they would take the stuff from you
25:15I was coming to that
25:17do they carry the backpacks
25:19no
25:21they would take some stuff from you
25:23if you can't go on
25:25bear in mind the Sherpas
25:27their endurance level is insane
25:29we went from camp 3 to camp 4
25:31on oxygen
25:33and my Sherpa was without oxygen
25:36going up to the summit
25:38I was on 4 liters per hour
25:40he was on 1.5
25:42I sleep on 1.5
25:44it's insane
25:46I think their genes
25:48they were born there
25:50in the mountains
25:52they were born on altitude
25:54it makes them really strong
25:56without them
25:58I don't think Everest would be easy
26:00they get to a point where they look at your face
26:02or at your fingers
26:04what needs to be done
26:06what sort of medication you need to take
26:08or if they need to step out
26:10or if they give you something
26:12they are beautiful people
26:14inside out
26:16majority of them
26:18though there were a few Sherpas
26:20that just started
26:22but then those ones
26:24who are experienced
26:26at least in my condition
26:28the one that was with me
26:30he paraglided from Everest
26:33she had a really cool guy
26:43so he is well experienced
26:45and on top of that
26:47they know what type of medication
26:49to be given to any climber
26:51at any given time
26:53so as Tima said
26:55no climbers would have
26:57done a successful climb
26:59without Sherpas
27:01my Sherpa decided
27:03that it's time for me to come down
27:05when I was saying
27:07no I have the strength
27:09and I was fighting myself
27:11not to quit
27:13because
27:15I think I'm not a quitter
27:17but then
27:19not at all
27:21I'm sure you're going to go back there
27:23your health becomes a factor
27:25that you need to consider
27:27before anything else
27:30that's the best thing any climber can do
27:32on the mountain
27:34keep your ego on the sea level
27:36because you cannot conquer a mountain
27:38you conquer yourself
27:40and you conquer your challenges
27:42but never a mountain
27:44don't put yourself in that comparison
27:46you'll never be able to conquer a mountain
27:48it's bigger than you
27:50and if you bring ego in between all of this
27:52you may not be given
27:54a chance to come back and tackle it
27:56you have another opportunity
27:59and I'm sure you're going to do that
28:01so talking about the backpack
28:03how heavy is it
28:05and what do you stock in the backpack
28:07are there some essentials
28:09snacks
28:11so how heavy is the backpack
28:13how heavy is it
28:15it depends which camp you're going
28:17it depends
28:19so first rotation my backpack was very heavy
28:21it could go up to 17 kilos
28:23sometimes
28:25and the higher you go
28:2717 kilos on your back
28:29and at an altitude
28:31where you can barely breathe
28:33but then it starts getting less and less
28:35the longer you are there
28:37because half of your stuff
28:39are being left
28:41because you do rotations on Everest
28:43so I left a lot of stuff on camp too
28:45so next time I had to go up
28:47I only had to carry my snacks
28:49some water
28:51and sometimes I would get extremely tired
28:53my Sherpa would carry my 2 liters of water
28:56and some snacks
28:58it was too much
29:00so what is harder
29:02they say coming
29:04descending is harder
29:06why is it
29:08you would think that descending
29:10coming down is easier
29:12you've used all of your energy
29:14so it's the mountain
29:16we've been in the mountain for a longer duration
29:18and
29:20that day you have to come down
29:22to camp too
29:24you've been walking and walking
29:26for several hours
29:28so descending is much harder
29:30so one is the mindset
29:32because it's sort of told you
29:34that you've done what you needed to do
29:36and now you want to get back
29:38to where you need to go back
29:40really fast I guess
29:42it's hard
29:44but it's not the hardest
29:46I think it's the scariest
29:48it's more scary going down
29:50which makes it harder
29:53going up you're zoned out
29:55it's very tough
29:57the oxygen is becoming less
29:59you're tired
30:01it's an ascent
30:03your breath is very short
30:05but coming down
30:07you have the breath
30:09but you don't know when you can slip
30:11there's one rope
30:13people are going up and down
30:15and people are more dangerous
30:17than the mountain
30:19it was terrible with the people
30:22they take you down with them
30:24so going down
30:26bear in mind ice, snow
30:28and rocks
30:30and you're wearing crampons
30:32you don't know how you would slip
30:34it's easier to slip
30:36and as you said we're tired
30:38so there is a rope
30:40that you hold on to
30:42you're clipped into a rope
30:44from base camp to the summit
30:46all the time
30:48so we wear our harnesses
30:50and the carabiner
30:52is always locked into the rope
30:54all the time
30:56so how did people slip?
30:58of course
31:00May 22nd
31:02was like a zoo
31:04on the Everest
31:06with the traffic jam
31:08and the unfortunate deaths
31:10that took place
31:12so how does that happen?
31:14if you're clipped onto the rope
31:16how do you slip?
31:19so there are some people
31:21who are not clipped
31:23everybody is clipped
31:25sometimes you unclip
31:27because there are knots
31:29and then you reclip
31:31but I don't think people slip like that
31:33but I heard of one accident
31:35who slipped
31:37he missed the clipping
31:39so that time between
31:41clipping and unclipping
31:43is when the accidents
31:45occur
31:47there was one accident
31:49the guy was too tired
31:51and he didn't clip properly
31:53and he slipped
31:55so tell us about that day
31:57because you peaked
31:59so I woke up
32:01so we arrived to camp 4 at 1
32:03and then
32:05I had some snacks
32:07and you're on oxygen all the time
32:09inside the tent
32:11and you're just waiting
32:13they said we're going tonight
32:16I took a power nap
32:18and then I woke up at 7
32:20and then put everything on
32:22so you have a lot of layers
32:24I had 3 pants, 4 tops
32:26and then you have a down suit
32:28and then you have your harness
32:30then you have your boots
32:32and then I had an overboot
32:34because I got really cold
32:36and then you crampons
32:38really?
32:40you must have been very heavy
32:42I was a walking monster
32:45I thought I'm a pig
32:47with my boots
32:49overboots above them
32:51with the crampons
32:53and then I had my backpack
32:55and in your backpack you have your oxygen bottle
32:57and water and everything
32:59and then you get out of the tent
33:01and you're just really big
33:03and it's windy outside
33:05and all I could see in front of me
33:07was like 100 headlamps
33:09and I'm just like
33:11I don't know how long this is going to take
33:13it's like a very long night
33:15so it was 8, we started
33:17and then I made it to the summit
33:19at 9 in the morning
33:21because of the traffic
33:23I was stuck behind
33:2513 hours
33:27so you're going from 8,000 to 8,848 metres
33:29that night
33:31it was so crowded
33:33people were really exhausted
33:35Alhamdulillah
33:37nothing was wrong with me
33:39I didn't have
33:42any headache
33:44I didn't have any altitude sickness
33:46my body was not aching anymore
33:48it's as if I just started climbing
33:50and after two months
33:52I was completely fine
33:54so I think I was really lucky back then
33:56so suddenly I find myself
33:58on the first stop
34:00the balcony where we changed the oxygen bottles
34:02but then you see people lying
34:04down there
34:06people can't continue
34:08and there's one rope on the way to the top
34:10you cannot unclip
34:12so if someone's tired you just have to stand
34:14behind them and wait
34:16at one point
34:18there's a part where you have to climb
34:20but it's ice and rocks
34:22and it takes time
34:24because climbing on that altitude is not easy
34:26you run out of breath really easily
34:28I waited an hour
34:30for a guy to move
34:32so he would step and rest
34:34like rest for a while
34:36and then you can't say anything
34:39because everybody's tired
34:41everybody is worried
34:43and everybody's going to the same goal
34:45you just have to wait
34:47so my Sherpa was strong enough
34:49we would unclip
34:51which I think was unsafe
34:53and then he would pull me with him
34:55and try to overtake people
34:57so we can cross
34:59but with overtaking it was still not easy
35:01and from the South Summit
35:03to the Summit
35:05there's something called the Hillary stuff
35:08it took me 4 hours
35:10so I changed my oxygen bottle
35:12after the South Summit
35:14and then there's this rope
35:16and I think everybody in the famous picture of the line
35:18I was in that queue
35:20and it feels really bad
35:22I didn't know
35:24the Summit is so close
35:26I can see it but I'm confused
35:28if I would make it or not
35:30because at one point you need to turn back
35:32because the weather gets really bad up there
35:34we're standing at around 8700m
35:36it's not moving
35:38it's very windy
35:40you can only put one foot on the trail
35:42so you put two foot behind each other
35:44people are coming down from the Summit
35:46and then you have to lean
35:48to the side of the mountain
35:50and then they need to jump over you
35:52and we're all on one rope
35:54and sometimes they would clip into your harness
35:56because you're clipped to the rope
35:58because there's no space on the rope
36:00to clip
36:02so it was the people
36:05it was really bad
36:07and it ruins the Summit experience
36:09so before getting to the Summit
36:11all I was saying was
36:13thank God I just want to get done with this now
36:15I forgot that I was on Everest
36:17I forgot I'm going to see the world
36:19it was so bad
36:21and people coming down
36:23and everybody is sweating
36:25at one point you get really annoyed
36:27it was horrible
36:29ok, alright
36:31that's a pretty thing
36:33would you want more regulations
36:35in terms of how many people
36:37can climb in a day
36:39yes, of course
36:41because you obviously have
36:43the passionate adventurers
36:45right over there on top
36:47it's not everybody who can do it
36:49so you want that whole experience to be great
36:51and something like this
36:53isn't really very
36:55it doesn't make you happy
36:57I think this year was the highest number
36:59of permits that were issued
37:02yes, apparently
37:04probably I think
37:06the Minister of Tourism needs to look at this
37:08to look at this, absolutely
37:10and to do a cut down
37:12in terms of
37:14what you call it, permits
37:16that are issued
37:18because it's not only the funding
37:20that gets entered
37:22people health and safety
37:24is more important
37:26in my own opinion
37:28they need to regulate
37:31there was more than 350 permits
37:33that were issued
37:35so
37:37on our last few
37:39questions
37:41in terms of
37:43what you saw while going up
37:45and coming back
37:47it was lovely what you talked about
37:49people clipping
37:51your harness
37:53and things
37:55in terms of people
37:57also, I think you encountered
37:59a person actually dying right in front of you
38:01not dying
38:03everybody's been writing that he died
38:05he collapsed
38:07so he managed to come back up?
38:09I don't know
38:11there was a guy
38:13we were drumming
38:15our way up
38:17and you see him going on his knees
38:19and then he just
38:21lies down
38:23and I wouldn't look or think
38:25I would ask
38:28and you just cross it
38:30the reason why I ask this question is
38:32because when you are there already struggling
38:34does that bring you down?
38:36does that bring the moral down?
38:38this is a question of ethics
38:40this is a question of ethics
38:42you're going up
38:44you can see that you're very close to your goal
38:46somebody
38:48happens to collapse
38:50or anything
38:52what do you do?
38:54I'm just happy
38:56because
38:58I don't know
39:00if it's a friend
39:02it's going to be really difficult
39:04it's not easy
39:06everybody has a way of dealing with this
39:08if I can help I would definitely help
39:10but if I can't help
39:12because at this altitude
39:14sometimes if you're helping
39:16I'm sure the Sherpas jumped into it
39:18his Sherpa was just on the radio
39:20and his Sherpa wasn't
39:22one of the people
39:25we did follow that story
39:27and we know that they were
39:29picked up by the experts
39:31but not on the spot
39:33their families
39:35need to pay a lot to get them down
39:37oh is it
39:39because it's a whole different
39:41infrastructure and logistics
39:43that they need to deal with
39:45but in terms of
39:47just the moral
39:49does it scare you when you see that
39:51or you just like
39:54the first thing I would think about
39:56is I do not want my
39:58mom and dad to see me
40:00this way
40:02you don't want to end up like this
40:04because I came
40:06because it's a passion
40:08I'd definitely die for this passion
40:10I don't mind
40:12but I made a promise
40:14when I started that I would not hurt
40:16myself and I turned
40:18once on a mountain
40:206400 meters
40:22I turned back
40:24because everything in the universe
40:26was not working for me
40:28it was meant to turn back
40:30and I was there for I think
40:3220 days climbing the mountain
40:34so yeah it hits me
40:36and I try not to think about it
40:38it's all about your mind on the mountain
40:40and if you get emotional
40:42it can destroy you
40:44that's true
40:46I saw a dead body
40:48on the way
40:51he was clipped to the rope
40:53and we had to clip next to him
40:55oh my god
40:57no we clipped to the next guy
40:59no I clipped on the knot next to him
41:01and I thought it was gear
41:03and I convinced myself it was gear
41:05it's scary because the guy was dead
41:07and he was
41:09tied up with the rope
41:11and he was clipped on the
41:13rope that people
41:15would clip onto
41:17and that moment was very scary
41:19you think of your life
41:21that you don't want to end up like this
41:23and you have to be
41:25because this guy summited
41:27and he came down without oxygen
41:29and he died after that
41:31oh right ok
41:33but why would he do that?
41:35he ran out of it
41:37he went up without oxygen
41:39yeah yeah
41:41not to Everest
41:43he went up to Lhotse
41:45so he summited and he came down
41:48because of lack of oxygen his body couldn't take it
41:50and he passed away
41:52a lot of people tried to help him
41:54but he started hallucinating
41:56and he was going from one place to another
41:58and then he collapsed
42:00and he was in the camp next to us
42:02yeah
42:04it's really hard to see
42:06the people that you've met
42:08or you've seen
42:10and he was clipped
42:12he was tied up with the rope
42:14and he was clipped
42:17and the community at that point
42:19were not able to get the funding
42:21to get him down
42:23and all the Sherpas were busy
42:25with the summiters
42:27he was there for a while
42:29yes he was there for a few days
42:31and then the whole community
42:33within the base camp
42:35started raising funds
42:37and collecting
42:39I think Mustafa was part of this
42:41yes he started that revolution
42:43and then he got Turkish Airways
42:45to fly him over
42:47oh my god
42:49you feel sorry for that person
42:51that the family cannot afford
42:53and he was of Turkish descent?
42:55no no he's Bulgarian
42:57he was Bulgarian
42:59oh my gosh
43:01that's a whole different challenge
43:03I know
43:05you wouldn't want to be in his shoes
43:07of course
43:09when I saw the body I was like
43:11God bless your soul
43:14I hope this does not happen to me
43:16yeah
43:18I have my oxygen
43:20I promise
43:22that I'm going to get back
43:24let's do our best
43:26to stay healthy and safe
43:28right
43:30now that you're back
43:32I was coming to that question
43:34has life changed?
43:36is there anything different
43:38after having
43:40tackled this big peak
43:42or is it still sinking in?
43:44I don't think it has sunk in yet
43:46I think it's only been 10 days
43:48since we were back
43:50I don't think
43:52less than 10 days
43:54probably
43:56it's still settling
43:58everybody's celebrating
44:00which is so sweet from everyone
44:02but as a person
44:04what changed in me
44:06I'm a person who's never nothing yet
44:08I'm still discovering
44:11I think it takes a while
44:13what's next for you ladies
44:15what do you want to do?
44:17you've done 6 summits
44:19so there's one left
44:21if I manage to get the sponsorship
44:23for my next mountain
44:25believe in it
44:27you will
44:29yes
44:31I would be done
44:33with my 7 summits project
44:35by hopefully December
44:37if I manage to fly out
44:40and do another mountain in between
44:42that would be amazing
44:44Mdavlam has been looking really nice
44:46so Fatima the 6 summits that you have done
44:48has all been on your personal funding
44:50yes
44:52I've never been sponsored
44:54ok
44:56so then it would be a nice gift
44:58not a gift
45:00I'm broke
45:02that's it
45:04I spent all my money on mountains
45:06I need it right now
45:08I would do Vincent
45:10if I'm able to
45:12Grand Slam Challenge
45:14the North Pole, the South Pole
45:16and then there's a lot of mountains
45:1814 mountains above 8000m
45:20I promised myself
45:22if I summit
45:24I want to try as much mountains as possible
45:26above 8000m
45:28and probably travel a lot
45:30it's beautiful
45:32nature is really nice
45:34mountains humble you
45:37as a woman
45:39I feel like Everest is a female
45:41did you feel that?
45:43I feel it's a she
45:45it's a female
45:47and it gives me a lot of energy
45:49that I can come back and give it back
45:51and just put out
45:53in the society positive vibes
45:55I think we can become
45:57a better generation
45:59a better society
46:01which we are in progress in right now
46:03the more talents we have
46:05and the more talents we work on
46:07and we feed those talents
46:09the Arab world would flourish
46:11the Middle East would be amazing
46:13and what about you Khadija?
46:15are you going to go back?
46:17go and peak it next time
46:19I can't wait to watch
46:21your story next year
46:23yes
46:25now that I know what I know
46:27it's going to be a different
46:29expedition definitely
46:31and in terms of preparations
46:34have you understood
46:36where you could have done more?
46:38yes
46:40I think
46:42personal opinion
46:44I think no one should go to Everest
46:46without at least
46:48taking a course in
46:50rock climbing
46:52because
46:54we were told that we'll go there
46:56and we'll do the training
46:58and I've never done rock climbing before
47:00so I never had
47:03the boots and these sort of things
47:05so I think
47:07no one should go to
47:09Everest without doing
47:11a rock climbing course
47:13because it helps a lot
47:15when you know it previously
47:17then going and facing it over there
47:19at Everest
47:21and
47:23where do you hope to get
47:25that training?
47:27would you maybe go off on a holiday
47:29and do some rock climbing?
47:31there are a few
47:33places over here in Dubai
47:35that offer the course
47:37so I'll start from there
47:39and then
47:41I think that would be
47:43the starting point
47:45I highly recommend
47:47whoever wants to do
47:49Everest or any other mountain
47:51at least get hold of
47:53your skills with the
47:55rock climbing because it helps you
47:57it helps with your confidence
48:00when you put your foot on the ground
48:02and when you knock your foot
48:04on the ice
48:06it helps a lot with
48:08your confidence in yourself
48:10and in your foot and where you're placing your foot
48:12I got to a point
48:14where on the icefall
48:16I was like, trust your foot
48:18trust your foot
48:20yeah, crampons
48:22but icefall is all about the crampons
48:24if you know where you put your crampons
48:26you're done
48:28I got to a point where I was just telling myself
48:30all the time, trust where you put your foot
48:32trust where you put your foot
48:34because that's when you build your confidence
48:36in yourself
48:38and I was like, one step at a time
48:40one step at a time
48:42don't rush
48:44but
48:46I would do things
48:48differently
48:50and I will challenge
48:52my blood condition again
48:54for next year
48:57congratulations by the way
48:59I never knew about your blood condition
49:01this is something else
49:03at 8000
49:05you made it at 8000
49:07that's amazing
49:09next year
49:11so basically because it tires you down
49:13people with thalassemia
49:15they get tired easily
49:17you get fatigue easier
49:19than a normal person
49:21and your recovery time would be longer
49:23than a normal individual
49:26how can you work on that
49:28medically
49:30I think personally
49:32it's going to be doing other mountains
49:34as well
49:36going more frequent to the mountains
49:38with high altitude
49:40because that's when it will start challenging it
49:42but I still
49:44want to do Kilimanjaro
49:46I remember we had that conversation
49:48before
49:50Kilimanjaro to me is a female
49:52by the way
49:54Kilimanjaro is a mom
49:56that's so nice
49:58she's so welcoming
50:00and I keep saying she
50:02Kilimanjaro to me is a mom
50:04and it's the highest
50:06freestanding mountain
50:08in the world
50:10so you feel that the mountain is lonely
50:12but as a mom
50:14and as a female
50:16she's so welcoming of everyone
50:18that goes to that mountain
50:20and it gives a different vibe
50:23the Himalayas
50:25the Everest
50:27because while you're going to the base camp
50:29there are other campers
50:31as well
50:33there are communities
50:35that live on
50:37Everest
50:39until you get to
50:41base camp
50:43there are communities and there are people
50:45who live
50:47on that mountain
50:49but Kilimanjaro is a lonely mountain
50:51and it has six different routes
50:53that gets you to
50:55the Ahura summit
50:57so my plan is to do the six different routes
51:01and I want to help clean
51:03that mountain
51:05it's a commitment of mine
51:07towards Kilimanjaro
51:09and I'm going in October
51:11trying different routes
51:13this is going to be my third route
51:15but I made a promise to this mountain
51:17that every time I'm on this mountain
51:20and this helps with the
51:22I was going to say Sherpas
51:24with the guides
51:26and the porters that are with us
51:28when they see a climber
51:30doing it
51:32I've encouraged a lot of the people
51:34that were on my expedition
51:36and they made me a promise
51:38that every time they go to the mountain
51:40they're going to clean it
51:42so to me that is the biggest achievement of mine
51:44but I still want to enjoy Kilimanjaro
51:46from different aspects
51:49from different views
51:51so Kilimanjaro in October
51:53and on a final note
51:55the UAE as an
51:57adventure country
51:59it's been really
52:01quite interesting for us to
52:03hear about the good news
52:05of the three of you
52:07successfully going there and coming back
52:09so tell us about
52:11how much the UAE has contributed to that
52:13have you been
52:15inspired in some way
52:17you mentioned Fatima
52:19that it was because
52:21you lived here in the UAE
52:23that you could do holidays
52:25and that inspired you to get into mountaineering
52:27so do you ladies want to share about that?
52:29I think the UAE offers a lot of outdoors recently
52:31and it's getting more and more
52:33I've seen the new stuff in Hatta
52:35it's beautiful, it's the closest one to Dubai
52:37for whoever is living in Dubai
52:39otherwise I do a lot of trips to Ras Al Khaimah
52:41so before going
52:43for the past four years actually
52:46I go either every other weekend
52:48or every weekend
52:50I took around 12 girls
52:52who are currently training for
52:54Kilimanjaro now
52:56amazing girls
52:58we trained in Ras Al Khaimah
53:00it does offer the outdoors
53:02it's really hard to explain this to people
53:04who don't live in the UAE for example
53:06because they see the UAE as a desert
53:08either
53:10like a water city or the outdoors
53:12are desert all the time
53:14so it's not, there's a lot of outdoors
53:16there's a lot of rock climbing
53:18a lot of rock climbing
53:20amazing spots
53:22there's many trails
53:24where everybody can go
53:26because training for a mountain
53:28as I said you need to be on the mountain
53:30to try what does it feel like
53:32to walk on a different terrain
53:34than walking on a normal street or a straight
53:36because you're walking on rocks
53:38and there's a lot of trails
53:40that reminds me when I travel
53:43for example Aconcagua
53:45when you start it's exactly like
53:47the mountain you train on
53:49because it's rocky area
53:51and the way
53:53and it's slippery
53:55it's not easy
53:57so there's many areas
53:59there's Wadi Shawka
54:01so yeah the UAE does offer outdoors
54:03but it's not easy to explain it
54:05because it's either a modern city or a desert
54:07that's very interesting
54:09that you
54:12similar thing to say Khadija about it
54:14how the UAE inspired you
54:16as an Emirati do you feel
54:18that there should be more adventure
54:20I think the focus on adventure
54:22in UAE is growing
54:24a lot of
54:26western groups
54:28who have adopted
54:30the
54:32the sports
54:34and they're doing a lot of adventure
54:36work here
54:38in UAE
54:40I see that the focus
54:42has shifted in Dubai
54:44and Ras Al Khaimah
54:46and there are a lot of beautiful trails
54:48in Fujairah as well
54:50where you connect to Oman
54:52so there are a lot of opportunities
54:54for
54:56adventure seekers
54:58to come and explore here in the city
55:00absolutely
55:02thank you ladies for coming
55:04and talking about your experience
55:10you