Qataris Abroad
Since returning to Doha, Fahad has also worked It wasn’t until 1985 that a human being had
hard to give back to the country that hosted him conquered the Seven Summits, the highest
for almost two months – Nepal. “The Nepalese mountain on each of the seven continents, and
population in Qatar is one of the largest expatriate Fahad intends to add his name to this exclusive list.
groups – they help us to construct so much of our
infrastructure,” he says, adding that this has inspired
him to volunteer with the country’s embassy in Doha
and take up a role as an Ambassador for the Visit
Nepal 2020 programme.
stage of a far greater journey Fahad is undertaking,
one that has most recently seen him travelling to the
At a time when you cannot
breathe, your body is
aching from pain, and you
are freezing, still you are
pushing yourself to climb.
It’s an emotional experience
that I don’t think you can
reflect in any other sport.
altitude and the isolation. For the South Pole, it’s
the isolation, but also the extreme cold there, and
the ability to push myself,” he says with an air of
disarming coolness.
Remarkably, the Everest-Lhotse expedition is just one
South Pole.
“I think for Everest the biggest challenge was the
Thousands of miles from civilisation, battling the
coldest temperatures on the planet, armed only with
a pair of skis and a small team, failure will never be an
option for Fahad Badar.
It was a chance sighting of Everest during a
backpacking trip around Asia in his twenties that
sowed the seeds of a dream Fahad would finally
come to realise some 15 years later. “I think it was
2016 when I realised I was missing something. When
I started reflecting, I realised I need to follow my
dreams,” explains Fahad.
And what a way to realise that dream. In taking on
both Everest and the neighbouring Lhotse last May,
Fahad became the first Arab man in history to scale
both in the same expedition – an incredible feat that
stunned even Nepal’s most-experienced Sherpas.
Fahad Badar,
Mountaineer
Standing on top of the world, Fahad also used his
climb as an opportunity to showcase several causes
close to his heart, including Qatar Cancer Society and
the FIFA World Cup 2022.
“People internationally know about the World Cup,
but they don’t know Qatar very well,” he observes.
“They don’t know the ability of Qatar, and the
success we’ve had in arranging lots of international
tournaments. For me, part of my mission was to raise
awareness about what we are doing.”
To get the latest updates on Fahad’s progress,
follow him on Instagram @Fahad917
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