Emirati mountaineer Fatima Al Awadhi has made history after summiting Mount Vinson, becoming the youngest Arab and first Arab teen to reach the highest point on the Antarctic continent.
The ascent, completed on 6 January 2026 in extreme conditions with temperatures dropping to −40°C, saw the 18-year-old reach the 4,892-metre summit, marking the third achievement in her Seven Summits challenge to climb the highest peak on each continent.
Vinson follows two major milestones, including a historic summit of Mount Elbrus in July 2025, where Al Awadhi became the youngest Emirati to reach Europe’s highest peak, and Mount Kilimanjaro in August 2024.
In her own caption, Al Awadhi thanked Palm Sports UAE and My Finance House for their continued support as she progresses through one of the region’s most ambitious high-altitude mountaineering journeys.
