The dream of everest
four arab women on top of the world
Four Arab women on top of the word
In the Spring of 2019, as the rest of the world gasped at the crowds forming on Everest (even made it to the last cover of Adventure). Four Arab women put it all on the line, physically, emotionally and culturally and climbed to the highest point on earth ‘The dream of Everest’ is their story, a feature-length documentary by Canadian adventure filmaker, Elia Saikaly, that chronicles the story of these women from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Oman as they train and prepare to the summit of Mt Everest. Let’s start at the beginning...
Who is Elia Saikaly – how would you describe
yourself? I’m a Canadian adventure filmmaker. I’m 40 years old and have been working in the video production industry for the past 20 years. My father is Lebanese and was born in Lebanon. My mountaineering/high altitude filmmaker career began 14 years ago.
Before the current documentary – what major
projects were you working on? I chase the stories, not the summits and am drawn to expeditions that share inspiring adventures that showcase the power of the human spirit. My most recent project was called “The Climb for Albinism”. I created an initiative that told the told of 6 women with Albinism from East Africa who attempted to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro. Their community is
often marginalized, oppressed and in the worst cases attacked and sometimes killed for their body parts which are sold on the black market for witchcraft. My project was aimed at shining the spotlight on the issue and empowered a team of women who bravely told their stories to reframe the narrative and depict them as heroes and role models for their community. At what point did it seem a good idea to take four Arab women to the top of the world? Being of Lebanese origins, I’m always on the lookout for great stories from the region. My father was born in Lebanon and after my first trip with him to the region in 2008, I made a commitment to invest my time in finding those stories and sharing them with the region and the outside world. From stories of Syrian refugees to Peace building projects in the region. A number of friends of mine from the region were planning on attempting Everest, each on their own. I saw immediate potential in creating a film about their collective efforts to stand as one team, representing women from the region and using the platform of Everest and the vehicle of a feature-length documentary to amplify their voices to break negative stereotypes, misconceptions about the region as a means to inspire women around the world.
How did you choose them? I began scouting potential candidates through Instagram and through common friends. While mountaineering is an evolving sport in the region, it’s still very new. It’s uncommon that women from the desert are climbing the world’s tallest peaks. I sought out a team of women that not only were capable and ready for Everest but more importantly embodied a message of hope, resilience, perseverance and infinite possibility. My goal was to assemble a team of movers and shakers who had a footprint in the region that extends beyond climbing mountains. Each has a track record of going against the grain, tangibly creating waves in their societies through their personal initiatives which vary from influencing women in Saudi Arabia through dance and movement to teaching young girls to dream big when they are told not to.
Before even the training began – did you come up against ‘discouragement’ with this as a concept – did people think it wasn’t a good
idea? We had no financial support whatsoever for this project. While there was superficial interest from organizations and broadcasters, in the end, no one stepped up to help us. We rallied together for over 14 months trying to put this project together and in the end, with only 5 days left before departure, I decided to take a giant leap of faith and made the production happen on my own. Collectively, the 5 of us still can’t understand how no one came on board as a partner, but we are proud that we all pulled together as we believe in the impact the project will have once completed.
What was your background with Everest? My career path is an odd one. I was invited to shoot a documentary on Dr Sean Egan back in 2005 who aspired to become the oldest Canadian to summit Mt. Everest. He tragically died during production. Never having climbed a mountain before, powered by passion and a lifelong commitment to fitness (I have a world record in powerlifting at the age of 17) I decided to climb in his honour and finish the film we set out to create. That journey led me to travel to Nepal over 15 times, working with students around the world on interactive learning adventures on Everest, working with brands such as Google, UnderArmour and various broadcasters around the world. I became known for my time-lapse and summit footage which is sought after my networks around the world from Discovery to ESPN to the BBC and many more. I survived both avalanches in 2014 and 2015 and spend a lot of my time working on projects that give back to the country whether Earthquake relief projects or projects that shine a positive spotlight on the Sherpa people such as out series with Discovery Channel called Unclimbed - Reaching the Summit that cast my dear friend Pasang Kaji Sherpa as a co-star of the show.
How did the training the women start and
develop? Some have been chasing the seven summits dream for over 6 years and others have only just begun. Nadhira Alharthy from Oman, who became the first Omani woman to stand on the roof of the world, trained with a secret goal for over two years, often alone as a woman in her country in 40 degree heat. Marathons, ultra marathons, scaling peaks around the world, scientific programs prepared by some of the best trainers in the world were implemented to prepare them for Everest.
How long was the preparation and what obstacles did you have to overcome, the Middle East is not renowned for its high ice coverage
peaks? Fitness is a life long commitment for each team member. Each has a rigorous training schedule that is a way of life rather than a specific training program. Each adapted their training plans to best prepare them for Everest. From cold water immersion to hypoxic training, mountain running, long-distance running, work in the gym, winter preparation climbs in the Himalayas and beyond. Mona and Nelly climbed Lobuche and Island Peak in Nepal in winter just a few months prior to Everest. Joyce was on Vinson in Antarctica and Nadhira was on Ama Dablam. Each is a trailblazer in their home countries and are living life outside the traditional lines. They went where they needed to go to hone their skills on ice and snow. The snow-capped peaks of Lebanon served as a training ground for Joyce who regularly takes people on weekend hikes, contributing to the development of mountaineering as a sport in a country where only one other person summited Mt. Everest.
Once you arrived at Everest how did the preparation go there and did you work in with
a specific company? We partnered up with Garrett Madison from Madison Mountaineering. This was a crucial decision that led to the success of our team members and the overall success of the documentary. I’ve been producing content on Everest since 2005 and needed a partner who I knew was responsible, reliable, safe and who had extraordinary western and local leadership skills. I worked with Garrett back in 2013 on another all Arab television series and for me, he was the only choice. Garrett and his guides put the team through a very challenging training schedule at basecamp that took the women’s technical skillsets to a whole other level. At times, the training exceeded the skills required on Everest but ensured they were prepared for anything the mountain would throw at us. In the end, the training paid off on summit night on the 23rd of May where over 200 climbers attempted the summit. Our team passed between 40-50 climbers that evening, confidently stepping off the lines and making their way past the queues.
How was the lead up to accent? The women were mentally, physically and emotionally ready for Everest. As with all 8000m climbs, everyone experiences difficulty at some point. Whether fear of ladders, exhaustion, suffering from the lack of oxygen, which is part of the experience and is what we all endure while acclimating on the world’s tallest mountain. Our first two rotations were business as usual until we were shut down due to high winds on our attempt to reach camp 3. We were one of the only teams on the mountain that did not touch camp 3 prior to attempting the summit.
"Each is a trailblazer in their home countries and are living life outside the traditional lines. "