Tanzanian mountaineer Rawan Dadik emerged the first Tanzanian to conquer all the world’s seven summits after successfully climbing Mount Denali, North America’s highest mountain peak.
Mid last year, the 22-year-old became the second Tanzanian but first Tanzanian female and the youngest African to reach the summit of Everest with the height of 8,848 metres, and was named Tanzania’s Tourism Ambassador.
Rawan had already summited all the six mountain peaks of the world and had only Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, in North America left. It has a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level.
Located in the Alaska Range, Mt Denali is the third most prominent and third most isolated peak on Earth, after Mount Everest and Aconcagua.
Denali is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve in the Alaska Range in the United States. Dadik started the eight year mission with Mt Kilimanjaro in 2014 and ended up with Denali last week.
In 2021, she reached Mount Everest in Nepal with the height of 8,848 metres above sea level; Aconcagua, Argentina (6,962m) in 2018; Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (5,895) in 2014; Elbrus, Russia (5,642m) in 2016; Vinson Massif, Antartica (4,892) in 2019 and Puncak Jaya, Indonesia, (4,880) in 2017.
After her successful ascent and descent from Mt Everest last year, Rawan said she was proud to have hoisted Tanzanian flag on the Earth’s highest mountain.
Rawan, who started her ascent on March 22 and descended on May 28, described her mission as a ‘crazy experience’, deeming it a long trip, both mentally and physically.
She recounted the journey as a rather challenging one, marked by several hurdles that would have made the faint-hearted pull back.
“The ice, rocky landscapes and lack of oxygen was really challenging…it was matter of life and death, but I kept one pushing on, it is such courage that kept me grounded throughout,” she added.