- Source: Zed Al Refai
Zed "Zeddy" Al Refai (born October 28, 1966) is a Kuwaiti climber. He was the first Arab to climb Mount Everest and the 46th person to climb all seven highest summits in the seven continents of the world.
Biography
Al Refai spent part of his childhood in the USA and attended university at institutions in Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. He spent holidays trekking in New England, the Rockies, and the Pacific Northwest. In the mid-1990s, he traveled to Nepal and was captivated by the Himalayas and Mount Everest. Mountains he has summitted include Mount McKinley in Alaska - North America's highest mountain -, Elbrus, the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, Everest, Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc, the Vinson Massif in Antarctica (where he reached the summit on January 13, 2004), and, to complete the Seven Summits challenge, Aconcagua in Argentina (where he reached on February 5, 2004).
Al Refai is director of the Arabian Mountaineering and Alpine Climbing Club, an organization founded in an attempt to popularise mountain climbing among people in the Middle East.
The Seven Summits
1999: Denali
2000: Carstensz Pyramid
2000: Elbrus
2001: Kilimanjaro
2001: Mont Blanc
2003: Everest
2004: Vinson Massif
2004: Aconcagua
2005: Mount Kosciuszko
References
External links
Al Refai's homepage
Al Refai's Climbing Center in Kuwait
Al Refai's Mountaineering Club