Outdoors lovers strive to show the world a different view of the Middle East, defying a sometimes hostile climate, and internal and external stereotypes.
![Bridging The Gulf](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/1021/287337/5b35b495d71ae/Bridging-The-Gulf.jpg)
The first Saudi woman to climb Everest, Moharrek says she grew up always testing boundaries. That started with pushing her family to expand their idea of what it was to be a Saudi female.
She describes: “Climbing trees in the backyard, jumping off piers in the night . . . chipping away at my parents’ mentality.”
While holidaying overseas with her family, she was given leeway to be the tomboy, to try it all: “Scuba diving, shark diving, sky diving – the best way to get me to do something is to say I can’t do it,” she says.
Then the rules abruptly changed.
“All that was ok up to the point when I became a woman.”
Then the pressure to conform, to act a certain way, became all pervading. That began with attitudes at home and so she challenged those attitudes. Mountaineering became her chosen vehicle and she set about climbing the Seven Summits (the original, Dick Bass version with Kosciusko). That culminated, in 2013, in her summitting Everest as part of the Arabs With Attitude team that also included the first Qatari man and first Palestinian man to attempt the mountain.
“After climbing Everest, my proudest moment will forever be landing back in Saudi and the airport doors opened and there was my dad’s face. He was so proud!” she says.
It was a huge moment. “He is such a great example of a typical Saudi male,” she says, but at that moment he was, “able to accept diversity.”
Still Moharrek faces opposition, especially on social media, but she is well past letting that slow her down. She is also keen to lose the distinction of being the only Saudi woman to climb Everest (or indeed most of the other major peaks she has scaled). She has been widely quoted as saying, she said: "I really don't care about being the first, so long as it inspires someone else to be second.”
Denne historien er fra July - August 2018-utgaven av Action Asia.
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Denne historien er fra July - August 2018-utgaven av Action Asia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![Policing Paradise](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1021/369740/5d723cd4d27b9/crp_Policing-paradise.jpg)
Policing Paradise
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The Not-So-Silent World
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Once Were Warriors
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The Secret Life Of Pangolins
PALAWAN – IT’S 1AM AND MOST PEOPLE are safely in their beds. Instead I’m deep in the jungles of Palawan with an international team of researchers and a squad of Philippine Marines, searching for pangolins, the most illegally trafficked mammals on Earth.
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Feast Your Senses
The Alta Via 1 is the classic Dolomite trail, bringing the peaks within arm’s reach as you hike between homely refugios and historic war-time fortifications.
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China's Olympians Show The Way
WITH 40 RIDERS FROM 12 COUNTRIES, THE KTA made its second visit to the Desaru Coast in Malaysia with its Asia Pacific Hydrofoil Tour Series , which welcomes amateur and professional riders a like . Chinese Youth Olympians Haoran Zhang and Jingle Chen took first places in the Men’s and Women’s classes, while Korean veteran Soon Ho Kwon was crowned champion in the Masters.
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China's Masses Warming To Snow
TWO YEARS AGO, CHINA opened the world’s largest indoor ski slope with two black runs, a blue run, snow play area and beginner slopes all served by chairlifts and magic carpets. Interestingly, it choose to build this behemoth in Harbin, where real snow piles high every winter and temperatures plunge low enough to host the annual International Ice and Snow Festival.
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A Quieter, Cleaner Everest In Store?
FOLLOWING RECORD deaths during the Everest climbing season earlier this year, Nepal’s government and the climbing community are suggesting a new list of preconditions for any summit attempt.
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A Life List Of Adventure
There’s a first time for everything. But some firsts matter more: experiences that are life-altering, that change perspective, build confidence and teach you about all you can do and all you can be.
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