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Shehroze becomes youngest, Naila first Pak woman to summit Mount Annapurna

In a historic achievement, Pakistan’s Shehroze Kashif has successfully summited Mount Annapurna, the 10th highest peak in the world, at 6:30 a.m. PST today. With this feat, Kashif has also become the youngest ever person in the world to climb 11 8000m peaks.

This comes just two days after Sajid Ali Sadpara, the son of the late Pakistani mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara, had added another feather to his cap by climbing the world’s tenth highest peak, Annapurna, without supplemental oxygen. The feat was confirmed on April 15, 2023.

Also read: Sajid Sadpara climbs Annapurna without oxygen

Kashif started his summit push on Annapurna from Camp 4 and has been on his way to the top, determined to make it his 11th 8000er summit. He accomplished this incredible feat at the age of just 21.

This isn’t Kashif’s first record-breaking climb; he had previously become the youngest Pakistani to summit Mount Everest at the age of 19 years and 264 days in May 2021. He had also set a record for being the youngest Pakistani to climb Broad Peak (8047m) in July 2021.

In another remarkable achievement for Pakistan, Naila Kiani has become the first Pakistani woman climber to summit four peaks over 8,000m. Kiani has been an inspiration for young women climbers in the country and has been setting records with her passion for mountaineering.

These incredible achievements have put Pakistan on the map as a powerhouse for mountaineering, and the nation couldn’t be prouder of these remarkable young climbers.

Background:

Shehroze Kashif, born on March 11, 2002, is a Pakistani mountaineer who made history by becoming the youngest climber in the world to summit K2 on July 27, 2021. He also became the youngest Pakistani to summit Mount Everest on May 11, 2021. After the successful summit of Mount Everest, Sports Board Punjab made him the youth ambassador of Punjab, Pakistan. He summited Broad Peak at the age of 17, after which he was called ‘The Broad Boy’. He started climbing mountains at the age of 11, with Makra Peak being the first one, followed by Musa ka Musalla and Chembra Peak at age 12, Mingli Sar in Shimshal at age 13, Khurdopin Pass at age 15, and Khosar Gang in alpine style at 18 years of age. Shehroze currently holds two Guinness World Records for being the youngest to climb K2 and the youngest to climb Broad Peak. On May 5, 2022, he became the youngest in the world and the first Pakistani to reach the summit of Kangchenjunga, the third-highest peak in the world. On May 16, 2022, he summited the world’s fourth-highest peak, Mount Lhotse (8,516m), in Nepal. On November 1, 2022, Shehroze Kashif was recognized by Guinness World Records for the year 2023 for summiting Mount Everest and K2. In July 2022, Shehroze Kashif and Fazal Ali went missing between Camp 4 and Camp 3, after successfully summiting Nanga Parbat. However, the duo was discovered shortly after.

Kiani Naila is a Dubai-based Pakistani banker, amateur boxer, and mother of two daughters who has become the first Pakistani woman to scale four peaks over 8000 meters. She first gained prominence after images of her wedding shoot at K2 Basecamp in 2018 circulated on social media. She had also summited Gasherbrum-II 8035m in 2021 and ascended Gasherbrum I 8068m and K2 in July 2022. She had climbed the world’s second tallest peak shortly after Samina Baig, who became the first Pakistani woman to do so.