A 11-year-old mountaineer from Dubai has set his sights on a 7,134-metre peak this summer in line with his target to conquer the world’s tallest summits.
Ayaan Mendon has an impressive record for attempting gruelling challenges. Starting his mountaineering journey at age seven, he climbed three of the Seven Summits – the highest peak on each of the seven continents – by the age of eight.
Mount Lenin in Kyrgyzstan in July will be his first 7,000m-plus mountain and a stepping stone to 8,000m ascents.
“It’s really challenging, the views are nice and it makes me stronger,” Ayaan told The National during a break in his endurance training at a gym in Dubai.
“I like crossing the rivers in the mountains. What I love most about climbing is that feeling of accomplishing something, going through an adventure that was so hard, that is very rare to do in your life… just remembering that you don't give up.”
On stamina and willpower
High-altitude climbing requires Herculean stamina and willpower at any age.
At age eight, Ayaan climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak at 5,895m. He went on to climb Mount Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest at 2,228m, and Mount Elbrus, Europe’s highest at 5,642m.
“I’d say willpower helps me to get the goal I really want,” Ayaan said. “Training helps a lot and you need to keep pushing yourself."
While Mount Lenin is not part of the Seven Summits, it’s essential training towards his ultimate goal of reaching the roof of the world: Mount Everest.
“My dream is to climb Mount Everest before I’m 18,” he said. “The hardest part for me is probably the summit because the air is so thin and it’s kind of hard to get used to breathing at that point. So it’s about saving my energy. I know I must have enough stamina to keep going. You need to have a good mentality.”
Treacherous weather on snow-covered peaks often prevents climbers from reaching the summit. Last year, Ayaan hoped to scale Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, but high winds forced climbers to turn back at the 6,000m-high camp three. The highest mountain in the Americas, at 6,962m, remains on his bucket list.
Training journey
His interest was sparked when hearing about the adventures his father, Saboor Ahmad, had climbing Kilimanjaro with friends in 2019. Since then, it’s been a family team effort to support Ayaan’s climbing ambitions, with his parents part of the mountaineering crew.
Countries have safety regulations governing young climbers, who are required to be at least 14 years old to attempt some of the world’s highest peaks.
Ayaan’s family has decided to use the time to prepare for the big climbs. “It’s a good time to get Ayaan stronger for the bigger mountains, and we will climb with him,” said Mr Ahmad, 38, who runs a labour accommodation business in the UAE with his wife.
“Ayaan needs to train on rope skills, walking in heavy boots and practice walking in crampons,” his father said, referring to metal spikes fitted to boots to prevent slipping on ice.
“He will learn from these experiences about how to manage his body because that’s very important on a mountain. If something is not right, he needs to be able to understand and speak up so we can take the right measures. Ayaan has this goal of climbing the Seven Summits and we want to do it in a safe way, so we complete the training required and then try the bigger mountains.”
Preparing for annual expeditions draws the family closer. “We live in a tent, eat together, there's no social media, no emails, we are away from electronics, really connecting with each other, enjoying nature and challenging ourselves,” said Mr Ahmad, who moved from India to the UAE 13 years ago. "Because of this goal, we have to prepare at least six months in advance so we are focused on our fitness, food, it puts us in a good regime.”
Although Ayaan’s mother, Vani Mendon, is afraid of heights, she pushes aside her fear to be with him. “I want to be there with Ayaan, I want to make sure his food and medicines are taken care of. I don’t summit any more because heights scare me, but Saboor goes with him all the way to the summit to make sure Ayaan is perfectly fine,” she said.
Mountain by mountain
The rigorous training covers long walks with a weighted vest, endurance exercises and acclimatising in an oxygen tent to prepare for high-altitude conditions at over 5,000m.
Ceejay Bollo, Ayaan’s Kenyan coach, creates a diverse routine to prepare the young climber to tackle technical and mental challenges. “We go case by case and mountain by mountain,” he said.
“Most of the time it's core strength, but it’s also mindset because your body could be strong, but if your mentality is not strong enough then the mountain will definitely conquer you.” He puts Ayaan through balance, co-ordination and core-based work-outs several times a week.
“The main thing is working on stability in his whole body, leg strength and endurance,” the coach said. “Sometimes we are running for a whole hour, other days we’re lifting heavy weights, like dead lifts, doing pull-ups, to work on upper and lower body strength.”
Up in the mountains at sub-zero temperatures, Ayaan takes a break with his second-favourite hobby. He tosses a yo-yo in the air and loops it around his ears as other climbers watch and applaud.
The young mountaineer's bucket list isn't confined to climbing. “I really want to win the world yo-yo contest," he says. "It requires some serious skill.”
