Talking Outdoors E5 Lessons from Island Peak with Mariz

“What I learned back there was way more valuable than reaching a peak or a summit.”

Mariz joined the community in 2019. She had already reached the summit of Kilimanjaro and had a very clear trajectory that she intended to follow. When she first reached out to us about joining our Island Peak team our interactions primarily focused on summit records and how likely she was to make it to the top with us. From the get go we were very forthcoming about our community ethos that places the experience and the lessons learnt from each unique adventure far above whether or not we all stand on the top of the hill for a selfie.

As the universe would have it, Mariz didn’t summit Island Peak.

“The mountain makes everybody equal.”

The mountain conditions were not right for her on this experience and she had to take one of the most difficult, but more valuable decisions in her mountain life so far. This episode of Talking Outdoors is about Mariz and her journey from Cairo to the summits of the Earth, the lessons she’s learnt since she got started and the challenges she’s faced both as an explorer of the hills and as an Egyptian woman breaking the norms of tradition and blazing the trail for the many who’ve been inspired by her.

For more information on this or any of our LHO experiences, reach out to us on [email protected]