19-Year-Old Emirati Becomes Youngest Arab to Climb Above 7,000 Metres

Emirati mountaineer Fatima Abdulrahman Al Awadhi has become the youngest Arab to climb above 7,000 metres and the first Emirati to summit the 7,134-metre Lenin Peak in Kyrgyzstan's Pamir Mountains.

The 19-year-old reached the summit on July 18th after a three-week expedition, completing the climb without supplemental oxygen despite the mountain's extreme altitude and unpredictable weather, where she then raised the UAE flag.

The climb is Al Awadhi's highest achievement to date, coming just one year after summiting Mount Elbrus, Europe's highest peak. She has now completed four of the Seven Summits—including Mount Vinson in Antarctica, Carstensz Pyramid in Oceania and Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa—as she works towards completing both the Seven Summits and the Exploration Grand Slam.

Alongside her mountaineering achievements, Al Awadhi is a recipient of both the Presidential Scholarship for University Studies and the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Scholarship for Outstanding Students. She is balancing full-time university studies with her climbing career as she works towards completing the Seven Summits before the age of 20.