KHAPLU, Pakistan: Two mountaineers from Pakistan have set new climbing records as they scaled the world’s 10th-highest mountain in northwest Nepal on Monday.
At 8,091 meters, Mount Annapurna is one of 14 eight-thousanders, a small group of difficult peaks above 8,000 meters. It is widely considered one of the most dangerous climbs due to its difficult terrain and treacherous weather.
Upon reaching its summit on Monday morning, Pakistani climbers Naila Kiani and Shehroze Kashif set new records as the first woman from the South Asian country to reach Annapurna’s peak and the youngest climber to summit 11 out of the world’s 14, 8,000-meter mountains, respectively.
“Naila Kiani has now become the first Pakistani woman to climb Annapurna, while Shehroze has become the youngest mountaineer in the world to summit 11 peaks above 8,000 meters,” Karrar Haidri, secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said in a statement.
Kiani, who is a banker based in Dubai and mother of two daughters, is now the first Pakistani woman climber to summit four peaks above 8,000 meters, Haidri said.
Kiani has previously summitted K2 (8,611 meters), Gasherbrum I (8,068 meters) and Gasherbrum II (8,035 meters). She went viral on the internet in 2018, after images of her wedding shoot at the K2 base camp were widely shared on social media.
At 21 years old, Kashif is on a quest to summit all 14 eight-thousanders and will be climbing Dhaulagiri next, which is the world’s seventh-highest mountain at 8,167 meters.
“Now after this, he would climb Mount Dhaulagiri. Then he will leave for China (to climb Mount Shishapangma and Cho You),” Kashif’s father, Salman Kashif, told Arab News.
“Six months ago, he was operated on for spinal surgery and we were upset about this expedition due to the surgery. We were very fearful about his trouble,” Salman said.
The family was “awake the whole night” as the young mountaineer climbed Annapurna.
“Though we were worried, but we (were) enjoying it.”