He did it again! Omar Samra, own very own homegrown climbing wunderkind, has once more given every Egyptian and Arab a reason to feel proud. In his pursuit to climb the highest mountain in every continent, Omar Samra did it again and raised Egypt’s flag on his fourth summit on Carstenz Pyramid in Indonesia, to become the first Egyptian to reach the highest point in Australasia.
Carstenz Pyramid is 4,884 meters high and is located on the island of Western Papua in Indonesia, a remote and indigenous region inhabited by native tribes and cannibals.
Omar started his trip from Sugapa, a very remote village with a population of about 400 – 500 inhabitants. Joining him was a team four climbers including an Australian, a Scot, an American and a 73-year old Japanese; in addition to four local guides and porters from different tribes.
“Carstenz Pyramid is the most technically challenging of the 7-Summits because of the steepness and rocky nature of the terrain, which requires special skills and tools”, said Omar Samra. “This trip was also unique due to the tribal habitat in the region. Before we began our jungle trek towards the mountain, we had to meet with the tribe’s chief to get his blessing and permission to proceed”, Samra added.
The trip to Carstenz base camp took six days in hot and humid weather,while trekking in dense jungles, 30cm deep mud pits, crossing cold and fast flowing rivers and slippery bridges. Mud-filled puddles were often the only source of water, and we had to boil the muddy water to be able to drink. White rice was our main meal for breakfast and dinner throughout the whole trip.
To complete his 7-Summits quest, Samra is looking for sponsors. “Mountain climbing expeditions are costly. I’m thankful to HSBC and other sponsors who have supported me so far. I could not have done it on my own”, Samra said. I believe the Ministry of Sports & Youth can play an active role to assist me in funding the remaining expeditions, either through direct sponsorship or through its vast network. I’m trying to approach them and I do hope they will be able to assist, so I can set a new record for Egypt and the Arab world.”
Samra was the first Egyptian and youngest Arab to climb Mount Everest back in 2007. Since then, he has reached the highest mountains in four continents including Asia, Africa, Europe and recently Australasia. His next challenge is to achieve his 7-summits quest by 2010 and reach the top of the remaining mountains in Antarctica, Alaska (North America) and Argentina (South America).
Throughout his athletic pursuit, Omar received two national awards from the Ministry of Youth and the Ministry of Sports; in addition to the Young Alumni Achievement award by the board of trustees of the American University in Cairo.Born in London in 1978, Omar is an Economics graduate of the American University in Cairo. Throughout his business career, he worked in London, Hong Kong and Dubai. In 2007, Omar was awarded an MBA degree from the London Business School, and has lately established his own company that designs and takes people on tailor-made adventurous trips to exotic destinations outside of Egypt.
Until the seventh mountain is climbed, we are with you all the way Omar!
