LOCAL climber Shareez Bagaria has challenged herself to reach the highest peaks across all seven continents. Getting ready to conquer Mount Elbrus – the highest peak in Europe – this climb is the second stage in Bagaria’s ambitious quest. Having come this far in climbing, Bagaria said her journey into mountaineering began with a simple love for hiking in the Drakensberg Mountains.
This quickly evolved into a personal challenge, which led her to climb Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania (5 895m) in 2022. “Kilimanjaro was a great challenge, but it made me hungry for more, so in 2023, I took on Mount Kenya. After this climb, I was hooked, and I set myself the ultimate mountaineering challenge to tackle the Seven Summits,” she said.
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To start the journey to bag her second summit, Bagaria flies to Mineralnye Vody Airport in Russia on August 8.
“Each summit experience gives you a new set of skills, and Mount Elbrus will definitely test my abilities. The summit day involves a similar gain in height to Kilimanjaro, but negotiating potentially soft snow and hard ice with heavy boots and crampons, and in the cold, saps more energy.”
Despite the challenges, Bagaria will tackle the eight-day Mount Elbrus trek as a solo climber, supported only by her Russian guide. “I was alone for my previous two climbs, so I am doing this one by myself, too. Fortunately, I love solitude as it allows me to focus on the mountain. My goal is to take each day as it comes, one step and one camp at a time, one foot in front of the other,” she explained.
Bagaria said she knows that the lessons learned from her previous ascents will be invaluable on this journey. “Physically, I have been doing lots of training, and I know that I will be able to keep on going irrespective of how I feel,” she reflects.
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“The mental preparation, however, is just as important as this will help me to dig deep and push through the cold and any other discomfort that comes with the climb.”
For the life coach and mother of two, climbing Mount Elbrus and taking on the Seven Summits is not just about reaching the top; she also hopes to inspire others to explore new possibilities.
“Working as a life coach, I have witnessed first-hand the fact that too many people let physical comfort zones hold them back. So, I have decided that I don’t just want to be a theoretical coach. I want to physically show people that they can set difficult goals and achieve them – and the Seven Summits is about as big as it gets!”
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Bagaria’s determination to ‘walk the talk’ is also driven by her desire to be a role model for her two children. Through her climbs, she hopes to demonstrate the power of perseverance and the importance of setting ambitious goals.
Bagaria’s journey to climb the Seven Summits is a call to everyone to identify and conquer their own mountains, whether literal or metaphorical. Her story is an inspiration to dream big, set ambitious goals and embrace the challenges ahead with courage and determination.
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