19 YO Emirati mountaineer Fatima Al Awadhi sets her sights on Lenin Peak, in pursuit of the Seven Summits

At just 19, Emirati mountaineer Fatima Al Awadhi has set herself an ambitious goal: to complete the Seven Summits and, eventually, the Explorer's Grand Slam. This month, she takes another step toward that objective with an expedition to Lenin Peak in Kyrgyzstan.

Meet Fatima Al Awadhi, the teen Emirati mountaineer chasing the Seven Summits

Fatima has already built an impressive climbing résumé at a young age. She is the youngest Arab to have summited Mount Vinson in Antarctica and Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, as well as the youngest Emirati to reach the summit of Mount Elbrus in Russia. Her latest climb, Lenin Peak, rises 7,134 metres above sea level in the Pamir Mountains and will be her highest-altitude expedition so far.

The Explorer's Grand Slam is considered one of mountaineering's most demanding achievements. It combines the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, with expeditions to ski the final degree to both the North and South Poles.

For Fatima, mountaineering began as something far more personal than chasing records. While she was in high school and her father was in a coma, she enrolled in the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award programme as a way to cope with an emotionally difficult period.

A trek through Nepal's Kathmandu Valley introduced her to high-altitude hiking, and during that journey she decided she wanted to complete the Seven Summits before turning 20, while continuing her studies.

Her first major climb was Mount Kilimanjaro, followed by Mount Elbrus, where she became the youngest Emirati to reach the summit. She later added Vinson Massif and Carstensz Pyramid to her growing list of achievements, putting her well on the way to completing the Seven Summits.

"So excited to share that over the next 20 or so days, I’ll be attempting Lenin Peak (7,134 m), my highest mountain yet, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE," the mountaineer wrote on a recent Instagram post.

"This is support that I am incredibly grateful for, and it reflects the vision of a leader who invests in and empowers the nation’s youth."

Fatima added, "The Snow Leopard Challenge consists of five 7,000-meter peaks across the former Soviet Union, located in the Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges across Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. Lenin Peak, the mountain I’ll be attempting, lies in the Pamir Mountains on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan."

Alongside these expeditions, Fatima is pursuing a degree in Economics at university. Training for high-altitude climbs involves months of physical conditioning, technical preparation, travel planning and recovery, all of which she manages while keeping up with her academic commitments.

Her progression has been notably rapid. She undertook her first expedition above 5,000 metres in 2025, and within a year is attempting a 7,000-metre peak, with four of the Seven Summits already completed.

Looking ahead, Fatima hopes to become the youngest person in the Arab world to complete the Seven Summits. Her long-term plans also include climbing Mount Everest and Lhotse in a double summit attempt within 24 hours, an objective that remains one of mountaineering's most demanding feats.

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