Transcript
017: Mariam Ktiri

Theresa Christine: Welcome to The Wild and Curious Podcast, a show that's part travel, 

Suzanne Schmedding: Part feminism, 

TC: And completely inspired by extraordinary women worldwide. I'm Theresa Christine,

SS: And I'm Suzanne Schmedding.

TC: The Seven Summits is each of the highest peaks, the highest peak on every continent. So there's seven continents, and so you've got Everest, you've got Denali. Do you think that you would ever want to do one of them? Or all of them? 

SS: Yes, I think I would want to do all of them.

TC: Really?

SS: Yes!

TC: Outdoorsy Suzanne, I love it.

SS: I am outdoorsy! Someone told me once, they were like, 'You know, you don't really seem that strong.' And

TC: I would be like...I would punch him in the, like nuts, and run off.

SS: I actually really enjoy being outdoors, and you know, I, I run and I do yoga, and I swim and like, I skipped my college graduation to go rock climbing and I've gone bouldering

TC: I forgot! You're like a big old rock climber!

SS: Yeah! And, you know, I think it's like, when I hear stories, like, these women are doing Seven Summits, like, I immediately start fantasizing about, like, I would love to do that. Like, I would love to kind of meet that challenge and test myself and kind of see what I'm made of, because I think I think I'm strong, and I think I could be even stronger than I know, and I would love the opportunity to test that.

TC: You 100% are! And that's the crazy thing, too, is it's like, yes, you have to be physically strong, like, you have to prepare. But it is also, it is more than that. It is you know, planning it, it is you know, waking up and being perhaps miserable and sore and, you know, having your period or something and being like, 'I'm gonna do this like, I'm gonna make it to the top of Everest. I don't care that I menstruating.' We are really excited to talk to our guest today. Mariam Ktiri is a mountaineer who's had a taste for adventure since she was a child and fell in love with the mountains in her home country of Morocco. She's now a resident of Bern, Switzerland, and has conquered peaks all around the world. 

SS: From May 2018 to may 2019, Mariam completed the Seven Summits challenge which are the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. She is the first woman to have done this in under a year.

Mariam Ktiri: For the Seven Summits in general, I was inspired by fellow climbers who had gone to summits like Kilimanjaro, which is the highest peak in Africa. It, it's located in Tanzania. And normally it takes several years to finish this challenge, but I really decided to push it to the limit and to do it in one year.

TC: Why?

SS: Yeah, I know! You took the words out of my mouth, it's like, 'WHY??'

MK: I think it was the challenge itself. It was the desire to to push my limits, see how far I can I can go. So, through the whole project, or to succeed this project, I had to train physically, I had to strengthen, or, to, to become mentally very strong. And in doing so, I discovered new potential within myself. So, it was tough. To be precise, my decision to embark on the Seven Summits challenge in one year was not overnight. There are many factors to be taken into account like the physical condition, the preparation, the time, and not to mention all the risks related to this challenge, such as high altitude, its impact on the body

TC: Yeah, you have to be like really ready to do it.

MK: Absolutely. Definitely. And, and you have to be like, very, very motivated to, to fight against the fear which you can feel you know, regarding this project, because when I think about it, like, the Seven Summits in one year, to be to be honest with you sometimes I, even now, I don't realize it. I don't realize I finished it in one year only.

TC: You're like, 'Oh, I'm a badass, wow!'

SS: And in addition to actually doing all of the Seven Summits, you were kind of a one woman show arranging the schedule, the sponsors, the training, and how did you handle all of that?

MK: I was a one woman show. And as I said, the Seven Summits is not only about our climbing the seven highest peaks, or the highest peak on each of the seven continents, but it's about the logistics, the preparation, the whole, you know, the whole organization, finding the right guides to go with. So for me, sometimes, the preparation was the most exhausting part. There's so many things you need to think about, you know, and, like, sometimes I had, like 16 hour days, you know, between training, between getting all the gear needed, working, you know, I have to mention that I was working this year. So...

TC: Oh, my gosh! 

SS: Oh, wow!

MK: So I didn't take a year off or sabbatical. And this made it more, let's say, more challenging.

TC: The most intense Seven Summits experience. Wow, that is really, really admirable. And, I mean, I've never done, uh, quite an intense trek like this, where you have to really plan you know, a year or even more in advance, you have to train, I've never done anything like that. But what is this like, in general, when you land at a base camp? And you're about to embark on your trek, like, what is the process like?

MK: To give you an example of what it looks like to climb one of the Seven Summits and how it works when you're right to base, base camp, we can talk about Denali, if you want?

TC: That sounds perfect. 

MK: Yeah. So just to make it more concrete. So, Denali, with its 6195 meters or 20,310 feet above sea level, is the highest peak in North America. It is located in the state of Alaska and is very remote. Denali is close to the North Pole, which makes its conditions very harsh, so 6000 meters in Denali, just to give you an example, they don't correspond to 6000 meters in the Himalayas or, Andes for instance. So, the height might be the same, but it feels different. So, two weeks before flying to the US. for instance, I spent eight days above 3000 meters in a winter ski resort in France in Chamonix, probably you have heard of. Doing different modern activities to acclimatize and get used to the altitude. So, the trip starts before you land in a base camp or even before you fly. And once I landed in the US, so the start of the expedition is a little village actually called Talkeetna, or like I arrived, I met my team and the guides. We spent two days in Talkeetna, just preparing our gear, packing food, supplies, the whole expedition material, because Denali takes, depending on the weather, between two, two and three, three and a half weeks. So, once we were finally able to fly to base camp, we started the following day, we started our, you know, our move to come. So you, basically we were ready, as I said we had our food, our material, everything. And we started work. I call it work, once we landed in basecamp. The following two weeks after we put our feet on basecamp, we used to move from one camp to another carrying very heavy backpacks and pulling sleds with all what we had. It means our equipment, gear, tent, food, so my backpack was so heavy that I needed help to put it on, just to put it on my back. You can imagine like, we, there are a lot of crevasses in Denali, so we have to be very careful when crossing those crevasses. Each of the Seven Summits has its specific environment and specific challenges, right. And each trip, like I had to get used to the whole set up, the whole environment, get used to team and we had to function as a unit within a short period of time. You can climb a mountain and reach the summit only as a team. There were also mental, mental challenges. So, to give you an example, the weather conditions in Denali, for instance, they're very harsh. So the temperatures they used to drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius. And, yes, so when we can up in the morning, can you imagine, like, you're in two weeks, you look up in the morning, and you're sleeping bag is covered with ice. So you move your hand, you open your sleeping bag, and then you have ice falling on your face.

TC: Oh my gosh! It's really fascinating to hear you talk about it, because it's one thing to picture yourself in that position where you're waking up, and there's like ice all around your sleeping bag. But it's another to be thinking, 'Okay, I have to pack I have to keep moving.'

SS: And these are challenges that any mountaineer faces. I was wondering, are there any challenges that are specific or unique to being a woman that, that people face when they're climbing the Seven Summits?

MK: Mountaineering is the male dominated domain, right. Like, for instance, in the Denali expedition, I was the only woman on this trip. Based on our, our bodies, and how our bodies work as women, we face different challenges than man for sure, right? But I think this is this is the beauty of it. And this is this is why we should be, or women in general, when they make such big projects mountaineering, they should be proud, really proud of themselves. They should get more credit, in my opinion, I think women, in general, they are, they are mentally very strong. And when they are motivated, and they are, they have a target, so they focus on it much more. It's, It's my, it's my experience.

TC: Yeah, it's almost like you have more to lose in a way.

MK: Yeah, yeah. 

SS: Well, and I mean, given that like, with, with more to lose and you know, more more physical challenges, what advice would you have for other people, especially women who would want to follow in your footsteps?

MK: I would say excellent preparation, motivation, and taking small steps. So, this is my advice to everyone who would like to climb the Seven Summits or climb his or her own Everest. Before starting a project, you need to study it first. Find out what you need in order to, to tackle the project, then you can start the preparation, only then, getting all the prerequisites needed. Stay motivated, even in the most challenging moments, focus on your target, and this will give you the fuel needed to overcome the difficulties. Large project, projects like the Seven Summits for instance, they for sure, they have ups and downs. I mentioned this earlier with the weather, so it can be very motivating, or demotivating. It can be very demotivating when you were working hard, as I said, carry you load, you know pulling a sled and you realize the weather is not what you were expecting to summit. But still, you need to stay motivated and to keep up and cope with the whole situation. The other thing, the other, the other factor or key success factor I mentioned is taking small steps to stay motivated. So even the 8000 meter high mountain can only be climbed in, in small steps to the top.

TC: That's really beautiful the way you break it down and talk about your own personal Everest. 

MK: Absolutely. 

TC: Now, Seven Summits you completed. So congratulations. That's amazing. And I know right now, times are a little weird because there's a pandemic, but what's next for you?

MK: Focusing my attention of being a motivational speaker to share my experience and story with others, and also came up with the idea of creating Seven Summits Adventures, which is a high standard expedition and mountain guiding company that will help me share my experience, my knowledge with others that would like to engage in mountaineering, climbing or just trekking. So you can check out my page on sevensummitsadventures.com.

TC: That sounds so cool, to be able to have someone who's done it and is like, so inspiring, leading the way and to go on that journey with them, sounds really cool. And I think Suzanne is ready to sign up.

SS: Oh my gosh, I am I'm, yeah, I'm just, I'm over here like, 'Me, me, me next!'

MK: It would be my pleasure.

TC: Before we say goodbye, and this might be like choosing a favorite child sort of situation. But we're curious, what was your favorite peak that you climbed of the seven?

MK: Hmmm...It's a very hard question, you know? If I have to select one, I will select Everest, because this was definitely the culmination of all. It was the last of my Seven Summits, so climbing Everest was key to success, the whole project. And it was also the longest trip to the highest mountain in the world. I spent two months in Nepal, a beautiful country with such amazing people. So, this certainly left a profound impression on me.

TC: And I didn't think so much about how you have to be ready in your mind to go

SS: No, absolutely. I was the same way. I was like, 'Seven Summits? No problem! I'll just train!' 

TC: I'll be crying the whole time. But I'll be strong. 

SS: I'll be so strong. Yeah, but you know, when, when she said that, it definitely made sense. It was like, 'Oh, right. Of course, it would be hard mentally to, you know, train for that many hours, to be strong enough to lift those packs, to be away from whoever, to face the knowledge that these are really dangerous treks.' And to do it with this self-imposed time limit. It's, it requires so much mental agility and strength.

TC: It was really cool to hear her talk about the camaraderie and kind of, the, yeah, the group part of things because yes, she did this and like very much was the one woman show behind this happening. But, you don't go alone, like you are with a group of people. And it sounds like it's a very special experience to share.

SS: Yeah, yeah, I love what, what was it that she said? She said, 'It takes a team to do these mountains.'

TC: When she was talking, I was like, somebody get this woman a TED talk. Because she was so motivated and because she did her damn research, and was like, so prepared. It was something she was able to tackle and such an inspiring woman for doing it.

SS: You can follow Mariam on Instagram at @mariamktiriadventures which is m-a-r-i-a-m-k-t-i-r-i-a-d-v-e-n-t-u-r-e-s or find her site at mariamktiri.com.

TC: If you'd like to join Mariam on her expeditions next year, check out sevensummitsadventures.com. If you enjoy listening to The Wild and Curious Podcast and would like to contribute to helping us make this thing run, you can! You can Venmo us at @thewildandcurious or via paypal at paypal.me/wildlandcurious. Anything you send, big or small, will go towards the costs of running a podcast that's dismantling the patriarchy.

SS: It means so much to us when people rate our show on iTunes and leave reviews. We read those sweet nothings and yes, we cry about them. We also love it when people send our podcast to someone who they think will enjoy it. Feminists sharing feminist content is the best.