The only way is up for a pair of UAE adventurers - who are jetting off to Indonesia for the latest leg of a history-making mountain challenge.
Hanady Alhashmi and Tima Deryan will attempt to climb the 4,884 metre Puncak Jaya next month as part of a bold bid to scale the highest mountains in all seven continents.
Alhashmi, from Abu Dhabi, was the first Emirati woman to conquer the 6,190 metre Denali, the highest peak in North America, and has set her sights on making more history.
She is aiming to become the first Emirati woman to complete the 'Seven Summits' challenge - and Puncak Jaya would make it six down and just one to go.
She hopes her efforts will encourage more UAE people to explore - and climb - the mountainous areas of the Middle East.
“We are two women who believe in challenging ourselves and recognize the power and need for self-belief, tolerance and ambition when climbing, all of which are values of the late Sheikh Zayed and the UAE,” said Alhashmi.
Climbing partner Deryan, a Lebanese woman now living in Dubai, has also made it her mountain mission to make it a magnificent seven, too.
She was the first Lebanese mountaineer to summit the highest active volcano, Ojos del Salado and only last week, she summited Mount Kazbek, a 5,033 metre dormant stratovolcano between Georgia and Russia.
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There are variations in the Seven Summit challenge. In Europe, some climb Mont Blanc in the Alps instead of Russia's Mount Elbrus. In Oceania, people chose either Puncak Jaya or Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko.
The core summits are Mount Everest in Asia, Aconcagua in South America, Denali in North America, Kilimanjaro in Africa and Vinson in Antarctica. Puncak Jaya is the highest summit between the Himalayas and the Andes.
The pair will be in Indonesia from September 15 to 27 to tackle the mountain.
Quest Arabia will be sponsoring the climb and following their progress up the mountain by live streaming their journey on its @QuestArabiya social media channels.
