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NDTV
23-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
"On Top Of The World": Kerala Woman's Journey To Peak Of Mount Everest
Thiruvananthapuram: Kannur native and a resident of Qatar, Safrina Latheef was a banker and a baker before she turned to mountaineering, a long term desire of hers, and became the first woman from Kerala to scale the over 8,000 feet Everest peak. Latheef describes herself as a "jack of all trades" as she did a bit of banking and baking before moving on to mountaineering. Describing the momentous feat as one of the "toughest" things she has done in her life till now, Latheef said that not just physical fitness, but mental strength was also very important to make the climb. She reached the Everest base camp on April 19, began the climb on April 28, started the final push for the summit on May 12 and reached the top on May 18. "It is a mental struggle, as we see a lot of unexpected things like avalanches, rock falls and dead bodies of climbers who tried to scale the summit with the same aspirations and dreams as us. "The dead bodies shake you up. You could be the next body on the line -- that thought crosses your mind. You have to fight all that to reach the summit," she said in a voice note shared with PTI from Nepal. However, reaching the peak is worth all that gruelling effort because of the view from there, said Safrina Latheef, who is in her late 30s. "You are on top of the world, the clouds. There is nothing above you that is the feeling you get. It is difficult to describe it. You have to experience it," she said. But, her decision to take off her goggles to experience the view with her naked eyes proved a bit costly as she got blinded by the snow and had to make the descent with poor vision and was subsequently, briefly hospitalised for it, she said. Earlier in the day, speaking to a news channel from Nepal, Latheef said that she did not realise the heights she was climbing while scaling the summit, but on the way down "I came to realise the enormity of it". "I am excited with the experience and happy that I got back alive," she added. Giving details of the effort she put in to achieve the feat, she said that it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that she and her husband realised the importance of health and physical fitness. "We became health conscious, joined a gym and began running. It was a long-term desire of mine to do adventure trekking. So, after we became healthier, when we had time, we climbed Mt Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters) in Tanzania with some friends," she said in the voice note. Since then, her only thought was to climb the highest peak on Earth -- Mount Everest which stands at 8,849 meters. "For that, we have been training for the last four years. We found a trainer and asked him to train us specifically to climb Everet. We planned to scale Everest last year, but, unfortunately, my husband suffered a training injury. "This year again he suffered a training injury, but I said I cannot wait any longer and decided to climb it alone. However, my wish was to climb it together with my husband," she stated in the voice note. As part of the training to climb Everest, the couple climbed Mt Aconcagua in Argentina which is close to 7,000 meters, but it was a rocky mountain. "In order to understand how it was to climb a snow mountain like Everest, we climbed Mt Elbrus (5,642 meters) in Russia. We also went to the Everest base camp in Nepal to understand the trekking culture," she said. She said she was lucky to have a life partner like her husband -- Dr Shameel Musthafa -- who is a surgeon at Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar, as they both think alike and have the same priorities. Latheef said that he was supportive of her decision to make the climb without him and she went for it. On what was important to survive the arduous climb to the summit of Everest, she said it was physical and mental fitness and appropriate clothing. "Proper clothing is important to combat the weather conditions at that altitude. Physical fitness is also very important in order to make the gruelling climb to the top. But most important is mental fitness as without it, one might give up halfway," she said. Latheef said that each day of her trek, she questioned why she was spending so much money to torture herself physically like this. "It is very hard to keep our aim in mind because of the amount of physical torture. So, we have to be mentally strong if we have to reach the top," she said. Now that she has returned alive from Everest, she has no immediate plans to climb any other high peaks. "But, I want to complete the seven summits sometime," she said, referring to the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. Latheef, who has been residing in Qatar for the last 25 years, said, "We need to find our own happiness and we cannot depend on others for that".
The Print
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Print
Banker, baker, then mountaineer: Kerala woman's journey to peak of Mt Everest
Describing the momentous feat as one of the 'toughest' things she has done in her life till now, Latheef said that not just physical fitness, but mental strength was also very important to make the climb. Latheef describes herself as a 'jack of all trades' as she did a bit of banking and baking before moving on to mountaineering. Thiruvananthapuram, May 23 (PTI) Kannur native and a resident of Qatar, Safrina Latheef was a banker and a baker before she turned to mountaineering, a long term desire of hers, and became the first woman from Kerala to scale the over 8,000 feet Everest peak. She reached the Everest base camp on April 19, began the climb on April 28, started the final push for the summit on May 12 and reached the top on May 18. 'It is a mental struggle, as we see a lot of unexpected things like avalanches, rock falls and dead bodies of climbers who tried to scale the summit with the same aspirations and dreams as us. 'The dead bodies shake you up. You could be the next body on the line — that thought crosses your mind. You have to fight all that to reach the summit,' she said in a voice note shared with PTI from Nepal. However, reaching the peak is worth all that gruelling effort because of the view from there, said Safrina Latheef, who is in her late 30s. 'You are on top of the world, the clouds. There is nothing above you that is the feeling you get. It is difficult to describe it. You have to experience it,' she said. But, her decision to take off her goggles to experience the view with her naked eyes proved a bit costly as she got blinded by the snow and had to make the descent with poor vision and was subsequently, briefly hospitalised for it, she said. Earlier in the day, speaking to a news channel from Nepal, Latheef said that she did not realise the heights she was climbing while scaling the summit, but on the way down 'I came to realise the enormity of it'. 'I am excited with the experience and happy that I got back alive,' she added. Giving details of the effort she put in to achieve the feat, she said that it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that she and her husband realised the importance of health and physical fitness. 'We became health conscious, joined a gym and began running. It was a long-term desire of mine to do adventure trekking. So, after we became healthier, when we had time, we climbed Mt Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters) in Tanzania with some friends,' she said in the voice note. Since then, her only thought was to climb the highest peak on Earth — Mount Everest which stands at 8,849 meters. 'For that, we have been training for the last four years. We found a trainer and asked him to train us specifically to climb Everet. We planned to scale Everest last year, but, unfortunately, my husband suffered a training injury. 'This year again he suffered a training injury, but I said I cannot wait any longer and decided to climb it alone. However, my wish was to climb it together with my husband,' she stated in the voice note. As part of the training to climb Everest, the couple climbed Mt Aconcagua in Argentina which is close to 7,000 meters, but it was a rocky mountain. 'In order to understand how it was to climb a snow mountain like Everest, we climbed Mt Elbrus (5,642 meters) in Russia. We also went to the Everest base camp in Nepal to understand the trekking culture,' she said. She said she was lucky to have a life partner like her husband — Dr Shameel Musthafa — who is a surgeon at Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar, as they both think alike and have the same priorities. Latheef said that he was supportive of her decision to make the climb without him and she went for it. On what was important to survive the arduous climb to the summit of Everest, she said it was physical and mental fitness and appropriate clothing. 'Proper clothing is important to combat the weather conditions at that altitude. Physical fitness is also very important in order to make the gruelling climb to the top. But most important is mental fitness as without it, one might give up halfway,' she said. Latheef said that each day of her trek, she questioned why she was spending so much money to torture herself physically like this. 'It is very hard to keep our aim in mind because of the amount of physical torture. So, we have to be mentally strong if we have to reach the top,' she said. Now that she has returned alive from Everest, she has no immediate plans to climb any other high peaks. 'But, I want to complete the seven summits sometime,' she said, referring to the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. Latheef, who has been residing in Qatar for the last 25 years, said, 'We need to find our own happiness and we cannot depend on others for that'. PTI HMP HMP ROH This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Banker, baker, then mountaineer: Kerala woman's journey to peak of Mt Everest
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Kannur native and a resident of Qatar, Safrina Latheef was a banker and a baker before she turned to mountaineering, a long term desire of hers, and became the first woman from Kerala to scale the over 8,000 feet Everest describes herself as a "jack of all trades" as she did a bit of banking and baking before moving on to mountaineering. Describing the momentous feat as one of the "toughest" things she has done in her life till now, Latheef said that not just physical fitness, but mental strength was also very important to make the reached the Everest base camp on April 19, began the climb on April 28, started the final push for the summit on May 12 and reached the top on May 18."It is a mental struggle, as we see a lot of unexpected things like avalanches, rock falls and dead bodies of climbers who tried to scale the summit with the same aspirations and dreams as us."The dead bodies shake you up. You could be the next body on the line -- that thought crosses your mind. You have to fight all that to reach the summit," she said in a voice note shared with PTI from reaching the peak is worth all that gruelling effort because of the view from there, said Safrina Latheef, who is in her late 30s."You are on top of the world, the clouds. There is nothing above you that is the feeling you get. It is difficult to describe it. You have to experience it," she her decision to take off her goggles to experience the view with her naked eyes proved a bit costly as she got blinded by the snow and had to make the descent with poor vision and was subsequently, briefly hospitalised for it, she in the day, speaking to a news channel from Nepal, Latheef said that she did not realise the heights she was climbing while scaling the summit, but on the way down "I came to realise the enormity of it"."I am excited with the experience and happy that I got back alive," she details of the effort she put in to achieve the feat, she said that it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that she and her husband realised the importance of health and physical fitness."We became health conscious, joined a gym and began running. It was a long-term desire of mine to do adventure trekking . So, after we became healthier, when we had time, we climbed Mt Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters) in Tanzania with some friends," she said in the voice then, her only thought was to climb the highest peak on Earth -- Mount Everest which stands at 8,849 meters."For that, we have been training for the last four years. We found a trainer and asked him to train us specifically to climb Everet. We planned to scale Everest last year, but, unfortunately, my husband suffered a training injury."This year again he suffered a training injury, but I said I cannot wait any longer and decided to climb it alone. However, my wish was to climb it together with my husband," she stated in the voice part of the training to climb Everest, the couple climbed Mt Aconcagua in Argentina which is close to 7,000 meters, but it was a rocky mountain."In order to understand how it was to climb a snow mountain like Everest, we climbed Mt Elbrus (5,642 meters) in Russia. We also went to the Everest base camp in Nepal to understand the trekking culture," she said she was lucky to have a life partner like her husband -- Dr Shameel Musthafa -- who is a surgeon at Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar, as they both think alike and have the same said that he was supportive of her decision to make the climb without him and she went for what was important to survive the arduous climb to the summit of Everest, she said it was physical and mental fitness and appropriate clothing."Proper clothing is important to combat the weather conditions at that altitude. Physical fitness is also very important in order to make the gruelling climb to the top. But most important is mental fitness as without it, one might give up halfway," she said that each day of her trek, she questioned why she was spending so much money to torture herself physically like this."It is very hard to keep our aim in mind because of the amount of physical torture. So, we have to be mentally strong if we have to reach the top," she that she has returned alive from Everest, she has no immediate plans to climb any other high peaks."But, I want to complete the seven summits sometime," she said, referring to the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional who has been residing in Qatar for the last 25 years, said, "We need to find our own happiness and we cannot depend on others for that".
Gulf Insider
24-03-2025
- Gulf Insider
UAE-Oman Road Trip: All You Need To Know
A relaxing road trip to Oman for this Eid Al Fitr break not only sounds like a good idea, but is also affordable compared to a flight to any other destination. Luckily, for UAE expatriates and other nationalities residing in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, they are eligible for a visa on arrival, and going through the border checkpoint is quite an easy process – if you are aware of all the rules. So, to make sure you do not face any hiccups on your road trip, here is all you need to know about the visa and car insurance requirements for driving to Oman. 'You do not need to apply for a visa in advance. UAE residents can get a visa on arrival stamped on their passport, and this allows for a stay of 14 days in Oman,' Latheef MC, visa consultant at Dubai-based travel agency, Anisha Travel and Tourism, said. If you are planning to stay for longer than that, then you must apply for an eVisa in advance, which would allow you to stay in Oman for up to 30 days. However, according to Oman's eVisa platform it normally takes at least four to five working days for the visa to be approved. If you are going for a shorter break, you can apply for a 14-day visa on arrival at the UAE-Oman border. Additionally, Latheef stated that there are certain nationalities that are allowed to enter Oman visa free through the border. However, it is important to check with the Oman Embassy or call the Royal Oman Police (ROP) contact centre – +968 2284820, to find if you are eligible for visa-free travel. UAE residents can get a visa on arrival stamped on their passport, and this allows for a stay of 14 days in Oman. Latheef MCvisa consultant at Dubai-based travel agency • Visa on arrival fee – 5 OMR (Dh47).• Exit fee – Dh35 (this needs to be paid when you are exiting the UAE border).• Motor insurance (if your existing insurance does not cover driving in Oman) – Dh106 or higher, depending on the coverage. • Valid Emirates ID.• Passport with at least six months validity. Border crossing points for Oman from UAE. Picture used for illustrative purposes. Route Ell, through Ras Al Khaimah, connects UAE residents to the northern most region of Oman – the Khasab area of Musandam, which is a governerate of Oman. Musandam is an exclave of Oman, separated from the rest of Oman by areas of the UAE. It is popular among tourists because of its boat cruises that offer the chance to sight dolphins, snorkeling and off-roading in the Hajar mountain range. Route E99, through Fujairah, connects UAE residents to the south of Musandam, to the areas of Dibba and Zaghi. If you drive along Route E99 in the other direction through Fujairah, it will connect you to the northern part of Oman, opening up the cities of Sohar and Muscat. Along the borders of UAE and Oman, the next crossing is the Al Wajajah Crossing, which you can reach by driving down Route E44. This is another route you can take if you wish to access the capital Muscat or wish to explore the northern areas of the country. Another border crossing through Al Ain is the Mezyad border post. When you are on route E40, take the exit for Zayed Bin Sultan Street, to reach the border crossing. This border crossing connects you to the southern part of Oman, including Salalah, which is a popular destination during the summer months. This is because from June to September this area experiences monsoon, as Oman marks the Khareef/monsoon season. When driving to Oman, you would first be crossing the UAE border post, where you would need to pay an exit fee of Dh35, according to Latheef. 'Next, when you are proceeding to the Oman border, you will need to park the car and enter the immigration section, where the visa will be issued and the passport will be stamped,' MC said. Before you decide to travel, contact your insurance provider to find out if your policy includes Oman coverage. 'Major insurance companies in the UAE offer Oman coverage for free along with their comprehensive cover,' Hitesh Motwani, the Chief Marketing Officer at said. In case your current motor insurance does not cover you for driving in Oman, you can purchase a policy at the border. Motor insurance for Oman is also referred 'Orange Card'. 'The 'Orange Card' can also be purchased at the border, but this is limited to 'third party cover' only. In case of an accident, your car will not be covered,' he explained. The 'Orange Card' can also be purchased at the border, but this is limited to 'third party cover' only. In case of an accident, your car will not be covered. Hitesh Motwanithe Chief Marketing Officer at According to Latheef, when purchasing the insurance policy at the border, the minimum duration of the policy that you can purchase is for five days, which costs approximately Dh106. 'Most vehicles in the UAE have GCC insurance coverage. If not, you can go to one of the self-service kiosks and purchase car insurance with at least five days coverage. This costs around Dh106,' he added. After the whole process is complete, the car will undergo a short inspection by the customs officers at the border, after which you will be able to enter Oman. You can drive to Oman in a borrowed vehicle, however, you need to have a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the car owner. The NOC must be notarised and translated to Arabic. The letter will state that the owner has given permission to the driver to use their vehicle, and it should include the chassis number, vehicle registration details and the Emirates ID number of the driver. Required documents to provide at the border Valid Emirates ID Valid pass Car insurance certificate 'Orange card' – this only required if your current motor insurance does not cover you for driving in Oman, you can purchase a policy at the border. This is commonly referred to as 'Orange Card'. Valid driving licence Valid vehicle registration card Vehicle ownership certificate No Objection Certificate (NOC) – if you are driving in a borrowed vehicle. • 14 days – visa on arrival• 30 days – eVisa
Daily Tribune
25-02-2025
- Daily Tribune
Kerala Youth Kills Four Family Members, Friend, and Injures Mother Before Surrendering
Email : editor@ A 23-year-old man, Afan, has confessed to killing four of his family members and his girlfriend, while severely injuring his mother in a series of brutal murders across multiple locations in Thiruvananthapuram on February 24. After committing the murders, Afan surrendered at the local police station, claiming he had consumed poison and left a gas cylinder open at his house. The victims include his 13-year-old brother Ahsan, his girlfriend Farsana, his paternal grandmother Salma Beevi, his uncle Latheef, and Latheef's wife Shahida. Police discovered his mother, Shemi, alive but seriously injured. Afan attacked the victims using a hammer, with the bodies of his uncle and aunt found in their living room and kitchen, respectively, and his girlfriend's body left in a similar condition. The murders were committed across three locations—Venjaramoodu, SN Puram, and Pangode. Afan first killed his grandmother, then traveled to his uncle's house, followed by his home where he attacked his brother, friend, and mother. Reports suggest that Afan's family had been under severe financial distress, with his father, an NRI working in Dubai, facing a collapse of his spare parts business. His mother is also undergoing cancer treatment. Afan was reportedly upset over the lack of financial support from his family. Investigations continue as police work to determine the exact motive behind this shocking crime.
