Rabat – After climbing seven of the world’s eight highest summits, Moroccan mountaineer Bouchra Baibanou has announced her new challenge: climbing Mount Lhotse on April 8 to complete the daunting Eight Summits list, a formidable and intimidating feat coveted by all mountaineers.
Mount Lhotse is the fourth-highest peak in the world with an altitude of 8.516 meters in the Himalayan range. Its main summit is between Tibet, an autonomous region of China, and the Khumbu region of Nepal.
Baibanou’s adventure starts on April 8 and will last seven to eight weeks, during which the Moroccan alpinist will race without oxygen to realize her Eight Summits dream.
On the eve of her departure for this challenge, she explained to the Moroccan news website Le360: “Climbing a peak of over 8,000 meters without oxygen is a real challenge that requires a lot of courage, willpower, and determination. I’m excited about this adventure even though I’m also a little apprehensive. I pray to God that everything goes well.”
Baibanou is the first Moroccan and North African woman to climb seven of the world’s eight highest peaks. The seven mountains she has climbed include Mount Annapurna (8.091 meter), Mount Manaslu (8.163 meters), and Mount Everest (8.849 meters), among others.
“I dared to dream and I reached the peak of my dream: Everest,” she told le360 in 2017 after successfully climbing the world’s highest mountain above sea level.
Baibanou is a trained engineer with a degree in computer science and telecommunications from Morocco’s National Institute of Posts and Telecommunications (INPT). She also holds a graduate degree from the School of Higher Commercial Studies (HEC) in Montreal.
The acclaimed alpinist is a member of the Royal Moroccan Ski and Mountaineering Federation and is President of the group’s women’s commission. Bouchra Baibanou also heads the “Delta Evasion” association for mountain sports.
Also a lecturer and coach, she is the author of a new book titled “Mon chemin vers les sept sommets du monde” (My Path to the Seven World Summits).
Read also: King Mohammed VI Congratulates Alpinist Bouchra Baibanou on Annapurna Climbing
