Saudi woman tops Everest

GNN Ads

KATHMANDU: Saudi woman Raha Moharrak reached the summit of Nepal's Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, in a first for kingdom where women's sports are severely restricted, tourism officials said Sunday.

The 25 year old reached the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) summit early Saturday morning with a party of foreign mountaineers and Nepalese guides.

"She reached the peak with 12 other members of the expedition," Gyanendra Shrestha, an official with Nepal's tourism ministry, told AFP from Everest Base Camp.

"We have been able to contact her and she is very exhausted and now resting," Hassan Moharrak, the climber's father, told AFP, adding that the family was very happy with her achievement.

Moharrak's feat is backdropped by her country's gradual warming to the idea of women participating in sports.

In a historic first for the country, two female athletes participated in the 2012 London Olympic games.

Early this month, the government allowed some girls in private schools to participate in athletics but requested the schools ensure girls wear "a covering and decent outfit" for sport activities in "suitable areas". (AFP)