Nadhira Alharthy - First Omani Woman to summit Mt Everest (2019) and First Arab Woman to summit Mt Amadablam (2021).
In May 2019, Nadhira Al Harthy became the first Omani woman and the second Omani to climb Mount Everest. The inspiration for wanting to climb Mt. Everest was meeting the first Omani man, Khalid Al Siyabi who summited in 2010. Nadhira was so inspired by his achievement, that she decided in 2017 that she too wanted to climb the highest mountain in the world. Up until this point Nadhira was not sporty and was not really that active, she was starting everything from zero. She had no knowledge of the mountains, and had never been climbing before. Nadhira gave herself two years to gain the skills and knowledge needed to achieve her dream. Khalid, was now a good friend and had become her mentor and trainer. He designed her physical training plan and had her running, hiking, climbing and lifting weights as well as working on her mindset. Nadhira kept all of this a secret from her friends and family and only told them two months before she headed off to Nepal in 2019. Whilst at Everest base camp, preparing to summit, she heard the sad news that Khalid, her trainer and mentor had suffered a stroke and passed away. Dealing with this loss, Nadhira decided to continue on with her summit attempt and wanted to reach the top to celebrate the man who had inspired her. Nadhira reached the summit of Mt. Everest of the 23rd May 2019, 9 years to the day after Khalid had summited. Nadhira is one of a growing number of Arab women who are following their dreams of climbing mountains despite resistance from their families and society. Nadhira continues to inspire other Muslim women to step outside their comfort zone and to try new things, many of whom have now been encouraged to participate in outdoor sports after hearing her story. Her next goal is to climb all of the 14 mountain peaks across the world that stand taller than 8,000m, dubbed by NASA as the Eight Thousanders. New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. To find out more about supporting your favourite podcast and becoming a patron please check out www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Show notes Who is Nadhira Coming from a big family Not being that active when she was younger Deciding to climb Mt. Everest in 2017 Telling the youth to try new thing and to be open minded for new experiences Having 9 brothers and 6 sisters Not having children Having 32 nieces and 28 nephews How her family have accepted her hiking and supported her Where her idea to climb Mt. Everest came from Why it was her destiny to climb Mt. Everest Meeting Khalid al-Siyabi, the first man from Oman to climb Mt. Everest Keeping her dream a secret from her friends and family Being coached by Khalid al-Siyabi and starting to hike and climb in Oman Paying for Mt. Everest and managing to get half of the trip sponsored Meeting the Ambassador of Nepal Deciding to invest in herself When her family and friends found out Not caring what other people think Dealing with the negativity and the risks Knowing that her mum was praying for her on the mountain What happened during 2017 and 2019 Making her training the number 1 priority Hating running but knowing she needed to for her stamina Running 400K and doing the UTMB Oman Learning more about her body and figuring out her nutrition and hydration The mountains in Oman Getting to Everest Base Camp in 2019 and not knowing anyone else Being very quiet and keeping to herself at the start Living there for 50 days Putting herself first and being her own best friend The mental side of the challenge and pushing herself hard Learning that her coach and mentor Khalid al-Siyabi died while at base camp The final push to the summit and making her dreams come true Climbing Ama Dablam, in Nepal, (6,812 metres /22,349 ft) Working with young people to inspire them Final words of advice Why you have to work hard to achieve your dreams Social Media Instagram: @alharthynoor