Saudi Woman Scales Everest, Becomes First Female In Her Country To Reach Summit

A Saudi women scaled Everest this week, becoming the first female from Saudi Arabia to successfully traverse the Nepal side of the mountain.

Tilak Padney of Nepal’s Mountaineering Department says 35 foreign climbers completed the climb along with 29 Nepalese Sherpa guides.

The climbers reached the top of the 29,035 foot summit on Saturday morning after a climb that took all night to complete from the highest camp on South Col.

Raha Moharrak following the climb became the first Saudi woman to scale everest.

The 25-year old graphic designer was the only female to join a group of four Arabs for the climb. Moharrak and her team announced plans to traverse the summit two months ago.

A tweet from the group reads:

“The first ever Saudi woman to attempt Everest has reached the top!! Bravo Raha Moharrak. We salute you.”

Moharrak was part of the team known as “Arabs with Altitude.” That group included Qatar’s royal family member Mohammed Al Thani, Palestinian real-estate businessman Raed Zidan and ice-cream franchise owner Masoud Mohammad.

Speaking about her record breaking climb Moharrak revealed:

“I really don’t care about being the first … so long as it inspires someone else to be the second.”

Not only did Raha Moharrak become the first Saudi woman to scale Everest; she also joined an elite team that now includes approximately 3,000 people who have completed the climb.

The group of Arab climbers traversed the summit in May, the most favorable month for weather at the summit.

Congratulations to Moharrak and her team for her momentous Everest climb.