Adventure athlete Samar Khan has made history by ascending and then snowboarding down Mount Elbrus, Europe’s highest peak. She is the first Pakistani woman to achieve this feat.
Originating from Dir district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Samar reached the summit proudly hoisting Pakistan’s flag. Her achievement includes being the inaugural Pakistani woman to snowboard from the summit of Mount Elbrus.
Samar shared, “I’m thrilled to declare that I have successfully climbed and snowboarded down Mount Elbrus, a pioneering feat for a Pakistani in the action sports world.”
She embarked on her summit push around 3am, reaching the peak by 10am. She described the journey as exhilarating, especially the descent, and expressed gratitude for the support she received.
Samar is renowned for being the first woman globally to cycle on the Biafo and Godwin Austen Glaciers in Gilgit Baltistan’s Karakoram mountains. In 2017, she became the first Pakistani to cycle on Mount Kilimanjaro’s summit.
Despite an initial lack of recognition in Pakistan, Samar was selected for the ESPNW Global Sports Mentoring Program in the US, where she was mentored by executives from Burton Snowboards in Vermont. Following her training, she excelled in snowboarding and founded ‘Samar Camp’, offering sports camps for girls and women in Pakistan.
Khan has earned several accolades, including a silver medal at the 2022 Sadia Khan Championship and winning the Red Bull Homerun snowboarding category in 2021.
Additionally, she summited and snowboarded down an unclimbed 5610m peak in Shimshal, Gilgit Baltistan. The peak has since been named ‘Ghar e Samar’ in her honour.
