Kilimanjaro Hike – My brother and I in the news
Here are a couple of news articles of my brother and I and our hike up Kilimanjaro:
Oman Tribune
Nabil sets off to conquer Mount Vinson in Antarctic
A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT Adventurer Nabil Al Busaidi set off to climb Mount Vinson, the highest peak in the Antarctic, on Sunday.
Nabil will become the first Omani to climb Mount Vinson, which is one of the World’s Seven Summits and located about 1,200km from the South Pole and peaks 4,892 metres.
As part of his physical preparation and mountaineering training, Nabil with his brother, recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain on the African continent and was trained at the French Alps in December by Simon Abrahams, a certified International guide and consultant to the James Bond movies.
The challenges of extreme cold, mountainous climbing and altitude would definitely make this adventure an extreme challenge for Nabil as he said: “Expeditions are never easy and this one has already become difficult with the airline losing all my vital survival equipment which I will have to replace as best and as quickly as I can.”
The climb starts at the Vinson Base Camp at 2,150 metre on the Branscomb Glacier on the west side of the Ellsworth Mountains.
Nabil and the team will be following the gradual rise of the Branscomb Glacier and travelling roped at all times due to the danger of crevasse hazards.
Nabil had been honoured by the Sultanate’s Ministry of Sport Affairs for becoming the first Arab to reach the magnetic North Pole and planting the Omani flag on “Top of the World” on April 29 last.
Gulf Daily News:
THE Sultan of Snow is hoping to conquer another peak this month, but only if he manages to find his lost luggage.
Last year, Omani adventurer Nabil ‘Nabs’ Al Busaidi vowed never to return to the sub-zero temperatures of the planet’s poles, after he became the first GCC national to walk to the magnetic North Pole.
Months later, he helped make history by accompanying US Navy Commander Rick Ryan and his team on an 888-mile cycling trip from Land’s End to John O’Groats in the UK – a journey they completed in a world record eight days and 10 hours.
He was later accompanied by his brother Muneer Al Busaidi last month, as they climbed Africa’s tallest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro.
However, these all but pale into comparison when compared to Mr Al Busaidi’s latest challenge – scaling the Antarctic’s highest mountain – Mount Vinson.
Only 1,400 people have successfully climbed the ceiling to the Antarctic, which is located around 1,200km from the South Pole and peaks at 4,892 metres.
However, it still remains unclear whether the Bahrain-resident will actually ever make it to the Antarctic, as he was yesterday stuck in Punta Arenas in Chile, while his luggage (including all his vital mountaineering equipment) was lost somewhere in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport.
Thanks to heavy winds in Patriot Bay, where Mr Al Busaidi is heading, flights were postponed to Antarctica, giving him hope that his bags could be retrieved before the flight was scheduled to leave.
However, he yesterday confirmed to the GDN he was still none the wiser as to whether his luggage would arrive in time or if he would have to forfeit the $40,000 (BD15,120) trip.
“Thanks to katabatic winds at Patriot Hills, our flights have been delayed, which gives me hope that my bags will get to me in time,” he said.
Misplaced
“Even better was a phone call from British Airways with the news that my luggage had been located in Sao Paulo.
“In case the bags didn’t come, I still went shopping to try and replace as much of the $5,000 (BD1,890) worth of equipment as possible.
“As it turns out, it seems that my bags have been misplaced in Sao Paulo and they are not sure where they are, which is a real blow after getting my hopes raised.”
Mr Al Busaidi added he was waiting for weather clearance for the flight to Antarctica to go ahead and it seemed he would only get his luggage in time if the flight was delayed for a further 12 hours.
Ahead of the trip, Mr Al Busaidi had visited the French Alps with international mountain guide and consultant on the James Bond movie franchise, Simon Abrahams, to train and acclimatise for the task of climbing one of the world’s seven summits.
He is undertaking the trip with the Renaissance Services Antarctic Expedition and will start at Vinson Base Camp at 2,150m before gradually climbing the Branscom glacier towards the mountain’s peak.
Mr Al Busaidi, who represented Bahrain University in the UK at football, was one of the first Arabs to turn out for the Bahrain Rugby Football Club and has competed three times in the British Biathlon championships in Germany -including in 2001 when the German media dubbed him Der Sultan Auf Schnee (the Sultan of Snow).
