Wasfia Nazreen conquering another peak; this time it was Mount Vinson -- the highest point of Antarctica -- on January 4, 2013. PHOTO: COURTESY
Polar temperatures, freezing winds and the extra effort involved in hauling a sledge made Mount Vinson, in some ways, an even tougher challenge than Mount Everest. These were the words of Bangladeshi adventuress Wasfia Nazreen who was speaking to the press upon her return to Dhaka yesterday after conquering the highest point of the Southern continent on January 4, 2013.
"Vinson was a different challenge," said Wasfia. "Normal average temperatures in Antarctica were around the same as what you experience in the summit of Mount Everest," she said, reflecting on her expedition to the world's most southern continent. "The wind also made it more difficult to climb and you also have to haul your sledge behind you at all times," she added.
Following a flag-off ceremony early in November last year, Wasfia had set off for an intensive two-week training camp in the winter wilderness of Canada to prepare for the challenge of climbing Vinson.
In Canada, Wasfia spent time in British Columbia and Alberta training with and under the famous Patrick Morrow, the first person in the world to have successfully completed the Seven Summits.
"There were a lot of different training regimens I had to undertake. Each mountain presents different challenges and for example, for Vinson, I had to undertake a number of special trainings like crevasse rescue and how to avoid avalanches," said Wasfia.
After her training camp in Canada, Wasfia made her way to Chile from where she travelled to Antarctica on the 29th of December 2012, after her original trip had to be suspended because of inclement weather.
She conquered Vinson less than a week later.
With the summit of Vinson, Wasfia has now completed four of the seven mountains in her "Bangladesh on Seven Summits" campaign, having previously scaled the heights of Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Aconcagua and Mount Everest.
The Mount Vinson expedition of Bangladesh on Seven Summits was supported by BRAC in collaboration with bKash Limited and BRAC Bank Limited.
As part of the deal, Wasfia will also work as BRAC's Goodwill Ambassador for the next one year to champion the cause of women empowerment.
Congratulating Wasfia, Dr Mahabub Hossain, Executive Director of BRAC said he hoped Wasfia "can be an idol for young girls and women to look up to, and that many young girls can draw inspiration from her."
