Qatari mountaineer Sheikha Asma al-Thani has scaled Mount Manaslu, the eighth tallest mountain in the world, and also become the first Arab woman to climb an 8,000er (eight-thousander) without oxygen.
Manaslu stands at 8,163m above sea level and is located in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal.
In recognition of the achievement, Qatar Olympic Committee tweeted on Tuesday: "Congratulations to all of Qatar. Our flag waves high at an altitude of 8,163m above sea level. Qatari mountain climber @atalthani (Sheikha Asma al-Thani) reaches the summit of Mount Manaslu, 8th tallest mountain in the world, and becomes the first Arab women to climb an 8,000er without oxygen."
Sheikha Asma narrated the experience on her Instagram page. "The Qatar flag has been raised for the first time on the top of Manaslu," she said.
"It was a challenging journey that pushed me out of my comfort zone at every level."
"From training two times a day with @clairemurphyxo (Claire Murphy) and @pierredaniel_active (Pierre Daniel) to mentally preparing for a goal I never thought I could set for myself until @Nimsdai (Nirmal Purja) set my goal a little higher. 'You can do this without oxygen' - he said," Sheikha Asma recalled.
"Everything changed, my dreams just got a little bigger," she said. "It takes a person that knows the power of a dream to expand it beyond what you think is possible.
"I had a restless night, no sleep at all. But @Nimsdai tells me 'You don't need sleep, it's only one day of your life'."
Sheikha Asma continued, "We started our summit push, and all I could remember was @moealthani's (Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulla al-Thani's) words 'Don't forget to look up at the stars. Why do we even try when the barriers are so high and the odds are so low? Why don’t we just pack it in and go home? Our goals, and challenges are what spark that magic within us. We can only go forward if we tell ourselves we can'."
"Slowly but surely we make our way to the summit of Manaslu without oxygen, becoming the first Arab to summit an 8,000er without O2," she said. "Don't downgrade your dream just to fit your reality, upgrade your conviction to match your destiny.
"A big thank you to all of my friends and family for supporting everything I do."
Manaslu stands at 8,163m above sea level and is located in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal.
In recognition of the achievement, Qatar Olympic Committee tweeted on Tuesday: "Congratulations to all of Qatar. Our flag waves high at an altitude of 8,163m above sea level. Qatari mountain climber @atalthani (Sheikha Asma al-Thani) reaches the summit of Mount Manaslu, 8th tallest mountain in the world, and becomes the first Arab women to climb an 8,000er without oxygen."
Sheikha Asma narrated the experience on her Instagram page. "The Qatar flag has been raised for the first time on the top of Manaslu," she said.
"It was a challenging journey that pushed me out of my comfort zone at every level."
"From training two times a day with @clairemurphyxo (Claire Murphy) and @pierredaniel_active (Pierre Daniel) to mentally preparing for a goal I never thought I could set for myself until @Nimsdai (Nirmal Purja) set my goal a little higher. 'You can do this without oxygen' - he said," Sheikha Asma recalled.
"Everything changed, my dreams just got a little bigger," she said. "It takes a person that knows the power of a dream to expand it beyond what you think is possible.
"I had a restless night, no sleep at all. But @Nimsdai tells me 'You don't need sleep, it's only one day of your life'."
Sheikha Asma continued, "We started our summit push, and all I could remember was @moealthani's (Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulla al-Thani's) words 'Don't forget to look up at the stars. Why do we even try when the barriers are so high and the odds are so low? Why don’t we just pack it in and go home? Our goals, and challenges are what spark that magic within us. We can only go forward if we tell ourselves we can'."
"Slowly but surely we make our way to the summit of Manaslu without oxygen, becoming the first Arab to summit an 8,000er without O2," she said. "Don't downgrade your dream just to fit your reality, upgrade your conviction to match your destiny.
"A big thank you to all of my friends and family for supporting everything I do."
