Naila Kiani becomes 2nd Pakistani woman to scale Everest

Sajid Ali Sadpara achieves feat of climbing world’s highest peak without aid of supplemental oxygen

LAHORE:

 

Young Pakistani climber Naila Kiani has successfully summited Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world at 8,849m above sea level, weeks after she climbed Annapurna I, the world’s 10th-highest mountain.

She is the second Pakistani woman to achieve this feat.

It was earlier achieved by Samina Baig in 2013.

Also, mountaineer Sajid Ali Sadpara became the first Pakistani to reach the top of Mount Everest without the support of high-altitude porters and supplemental oxygen.

“There is no better feeling than being on top of the mountain, holding the flag of your country, and making the whole nation proud,” said Naila as she shared her sentiments on this major achievement.

The young climber spoke about her experience and how she was super ecstatic to have accomplished another long-awaited milestone that had been on her bucket-list for a long time.

She expressed her gratitude to the BARD Foundation for its support and sponsoring her successful Everest expedition.

The recent feat is just another feather in her cap.

Naila recently summited K2 in her first attempt and also scaled Gasherbrum-I and Gasherbrum-II in Pakistan.

Now, she has earned another crown by summiting Mount Everest, making her the second Pakistani female mountaineer to achieve this feat.

However, her journey does not stop anytime soon as she aspires to scale more eight-thousanders in the future.

She is now aiming to scale 8,516m high Lhotse, the fourth tallest mountain during her current visit to Nepal.

Congratulating her in a tweet, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Naila had made Pakistan proud.

“Through her passion for mountaineering and amazing achievements to her credit, she has reinforced the notion that our women are capable of achieving anything. My heartiest congratulations to her & best wishes for her future plans,” he added.

Naila is is a Dubai-based Pakistani banker.

Besides being mother of two daughters, she is also an amateur boxer.
Naila had first gained prominence in 2018 after the images of her wedding photoshoot at K2 Basecamp went viral on social media.

“Naila’s boundless enthusiasm has always inspired us. She stands as a shining example and serves as a gateway for all the women who work diligently to achieve their dreams,” said Mehreen Dawood, the managing director of BARD Foundation.

“BARD Foundation takes immense pride in its longstanding association with Naila. Each of her achievements fills us with profound pride and joy. As she continues to scale new horizons, she has our constant support every step of the way.” Mehreen added.

Both Naila and Sajid began their journey to the world’s highest peak on Saturday evening.

Alpine Club of Pakistan Secretary General Karar Haidri said Naila was the first Pakistani female mountaineer to climb four peaks over 8,000m and the second to scale Mount Everest.

Speaking about Sajid, Haidri said he had scaled Mount Everest on May 14 without the support of supplemental oxygen and high-altitude porters called sherpa.

Haidri added that Sajid was now on his way down to C4. “What an incredible achievement for Pakistan,” he continued.

Sajid tweeted that scaling Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen support was the dream of his father, the late Muhammad Ali Sadpara.

He has already scaled several high peaks, including K2, Gasherbrum-I, and Gasherbrum-II in Pakistan, as well as Manaslu in Nepal, without supplemental oxygen.

His goal is to climb all 14 eight-thousanders without the support of supplemental oxygen.

(With input from agencies)