Yemeni national and Saudi-based Khulood Al-Fadhli has taken her love for adventure all the way to the summit of the spectacular Mount Kilimanjaro. The 36-year-old and her brother were the only two out of an original group of seven who made it to the top of Tanzania’s iconic mountain, one of the world’s Seven Summits — the highest peak in each continent.
Speaking to Arab News, Al-Fadhli explained that her love of mountain climbing started at a very young age, when her father used to take the family during the Eid holidays to camp in Asfan in Saudi Arabia for two nights and climb Al-Qamar mountain. It was experiences like the ones her father exposed her to that have driven Al-Fadhli’s love for mountaineering until today.
During her recent climbing adventure to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, which is actually a dormant volcano that rises 5,895 meters above sea level, Al-Fadhli explained that she suffered from severe headaches almost daily and was the only one experiencing them throughout, except surprisingly on the very last day, which say her embarking on an eight-hour climb that started at midnight.
Speaking to the news site, Al-Fadhli said, “We woke up at 11 p.m., had our dinner then started our trek, climbing up at 12 a.m. They told us from 5 p.m. to relax and try to sleep as much as possible because at 11 you have to wake up […] Imagine me knowing that I am going to the summit at 11, and it was 5 p.m. and I was in my tent. I couldn’t even close my eyes, I was really excited […] I was afraid of a headache, afraid that it would become severe at the summit. because they say it’s the altitude. The summit is around 6,000 meters high. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep.”
After hours of climbing, during which five members of the group pulled out one by one, Al-Fadhli made it to Stella Point, which is one hour away from the actual summit. There, she started to experience extreme exhaustion but was encouraged by her brother and their guide to keep going. When Al-Fadhli finally made it to the top, she and her brother raised the Yemeni and the Saudi flags.
“My motivation was to raise both flags: My Yemeni flag as I’m from Yemen, along with the Saudi flag. I’m really proud of my roots, and I’m really honored to be living in Saudi Arabia. I was born and raised here and I consider myself Saudi. I’m telling everyone I’m from both countries. I’m very happy that I’m rooted in both.”
Al-Fadhli is one of a handful of women from Saudi Arabia who have aimed to scale the world’s most magnificent mountains in the last few years. For instance, Hijaz-native Raha Moharrak became the youngest Arab and first Saudi Arabian woman to have climbed Mount Everest, and she has also scaled six other summits, including Mount Kilimanjaro.
