Bouchra Baibanou, the first Moroccan to scale the seven summits of the world’s continents, wants to inspire a new generation of women who “dare to believe in themselves.”
“With willpower and perseverance, you can get there,” Baibanou, 49, said weeks after summiting Antarctica’s Mount Vinson.
Conquering the 4,897m peak capped an eight-year journey, during which Baibanou traveled the globe to climb each continent’s highest mountain.
Photo: AFP
“I am proud, as a Moroccan and as a woman,” she said from her home in Sale, near the capital Rabat, where trophies adorn her living room.
That pride was evident atop Vinson, where Baibanou clutched her nation’s flag and a banner with a campaign message at temperatures of minus-40°C.
“From the summit of Vinson, Baibanou continues to support the fight combating violence against women and girls,” UN Women Maghreb wrote on Twitter on Jan. 1 after her ascent.
Wearing a beige headscarf and black shirt, Baibanou described the mountain as “a great school” as she reeled off the attributes needed to scale a peak: “Courage, optimism, perseverance, determination and humility.”
However, her passion has required a financial slog.
Baibanou is a government engineer and climbed the seven peaks with a budget of 2 million dirhams (US$208,349).
Sponsorship raised 60,000 euros (US$67,807) for the Vinson expedition and 80,000 euros for Everest.
“It’s not very rewarding to be a mountaineering adventurer in Morocco,” she said.
As well as doing community work, Baibanou gives talks in schools around the country.
She is also campaigning to develop mountain tourism in Morocco, especially improving the Toubkal National Park and “reinforcing security.”
In December last year, Morocco was shaken by the murder of two Scandinavian women hiking in the mountains.
“This terrorism act does not represent my country — one of peace and tolerance,” Baibanou said.
Despite her mountaineering success, Baibanou only discovered hiking at 15 during a summer camp. Her father, a mechanic, and her stay-at-home mother were not very interested in nature or sports.
It was not until she was 26 that Baibanou climbed her first peak in Morocco — Toubkal.
It was an exhilarating experience, spurring her on to take up mountaineering in France’s Chamonix region and climb Mont Blanc.
She still hikes close to home and last year took a group of about 30 teenagers up Toubkal, the nation’s highest peak at 4,167m.
“I hope to be a role model, above all for young women — for those who dare to believe in themselves,” Baibanou said.
While she traveled the world, her 14-year-old daughter was looked after by family, including her husband, who supported her ambitions.
For Baibanou, there is nothing better than an extreme sport to “overcome ones’ fears” and learn to “not give up at the first hurdle.”
She has seen young women who were hesitant at the start of their first climb transformed by the experience.
They face “a lot of discrimination” in Morocco, Baibanou said. “A lot of girls don’t continue their studies, but, if we give them the power, they will achieve.”
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