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A revered royal and a trailblazing figure for women in the region, Sheikha Asma Al Thani of Qatar has just completed another successful expedition on Mount Everest – adding another record-breaking achievement to her illustrious list of accolades.
This week, news broke that the young sheikha embarked up Everest’s Lhotse Face for the second time, making history by becoming the first Arab person to climb two mountain peaks exceeding 8,000 metres high without an oxygen device.
In 2021, she successfully summited Manaslu without oxygen, and attempted to climb Mount Everest under the same conditions in 2022, yet had to delay her goal due to an injury.
However, she still managed to make history that same year when she became the first Qatari woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest – the highest mountain peak in the world, standing at 8,849 metres tall.
Now, her phenomenal triumph marks another feather in the cap of the sports enthusiast, who is also the first woman from the Middle East and North Africa to climb six of the seven highest mountain peaks on Earth, and the first Qatari woman to ski to the North Pole, proudly raising her country’s flag there on April 21, 2018.
As a member of the ruling family of Qatar, Sheikha Asma’s mountaineering dreams came to fruition in 2013, after she found a bucket list she had written several years prior, which included the goal that she would like to climb a mountain. She began training shortly after this discovery, and her career has been on an upward trajectory ever since.
On her recent expedition up Mount Everest in May 2024, Sheikha Asma shared: “It was more than a test of physical endurance; it taught me patience and perseverance. Each day brought its own challenges and rewards, constantly reminding me to take it one day at a time, one step at a time.”
She frequently took to Instagram to share inspiring images of the majestic landscapes throughout her adventure. “Each photo tells a story of resilience, stunning landscapes, and teamwork,” she wrote on the platform. “The road ahead is steep but I’m ready for it!”
