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Friday 11 May 2012

Saudi pink Everesters are on course


The garlanded climbers pose for a picture (top right) before taking the long
flight to Kathmandu the night of May 6-7. A small plane (right) took them
the early morning of May 8 to Tenzing-Hillary airport in Lukla. The photo to the
left shows the group relaxing outside an authentic Sherpa home in Lukla

Eleven Saudi women flew out the night of May 6-7 to the Nepalese capital Kathmandu on the first leg of their two-week journey to try and scale Mount Everest.
Their campaign -- dubbed “A Woman’s Journey – Destination Mount Everest” – aims to promote awareness of breast cancer, express moral support for women sufferers and underscore the importance of healthier lifestyles and physical fitness.
All 11 Saudi women taking the breast cancer fight to the earth’s highest mountain – who I introduced in an earlier post -- have relatives or friends who fought or are fighting the ailment.
Led by HRH Princess Reema Bint Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the driving force behind the May 7-21 campaign, they are: Alya Al-Sa'ad, Hatun Madani, Mona Shahab, Noura Bouzo, Lina Al-Maeena, Samaher Mously, Asma Al-Ghalib, Mashael Al-Hegelan, Hasna’a Mokhtar and Raha Moharrak.
Here is a photo update on their progress so far. The photo originals are from their Facebook page:

From Lukla, the trek led the climbers to the banks of the Dudh Koshi (or milky
river, inset) and on to the town of Phakding, where they are shown resting

May 9: The Saudi pink mountaineers seen crossing the confluence of the Dudh Koshi and
Bothe Koshi on a high-suspension bridge before their steep climb to reach Namche Bazaar


Seven of the climbers pose for the camera on the way to Namche Bazaar (inset)

This May 10 group photo of the 11 girls was taken outside Hotel Camp de Base
in Namche Bazaar. They were to set out this Friday morning on a six-hour
trek to Thyangboche at 3,780 meters. Thyangboche is the spiritual center for the Khumbu,
a training center for new monks. It is also the home of the famous Sherpas

One of the Saudi pink climbers nailing a "Fight Like a Girl" T-shirt
onto the wall of a local cafe in Namche Bazaar. This is a
common tradition for all Mount Everest Base Camp trekkers!