AMMAN - Mountaineer Mostafa Mahmoud Salameh's accomplishments prove that any Jordanian can fulfil his dreams.
Flying the Jordanian flag at the peak of Mt. Everest, some 8,848 metres high, last month he became the first Jordanian and only the second Arab to scale the mountain, effectively going to the highest point on earth from the lowest, which is the Dead Sea shore in the Jordan Valley, which is around 420 metres below sea level.
Salameh's first attempt in March 2005 was abandoned after he developed a stomach ulcer at the fourth camp, 32 hours away from the summit.
In his second attempt in 2007, the climber came down with a chest infection, and was forced to retreat yet again.
"I could have pushed myself, but I wanted to return alive to tell my story. Coming down the second time was the hardest decision I've ever had to make in my life," he told The Jordan Times.
In between attempts to scale Everest, he ventured to the highest peaks on six continents, part of the Seven Summits of the world: Mt. Kosciuszko in Australia, Mount Elbrus in Europe, Aconcagua in South America, Mt. Vinson Massif in Antarctica, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Denali in North America.
After summiting each of these in a period of three years, all that was left was Everest, calling his name yet again.
But in order to make his dream a reality, Salameh had to make some painful sacrifices.
"After the second attempt, my wife told me that if I tried to climb Everest again, our marriage would be over. And I chose Everest," he added.
His previous failed attempts taught him valuable lessons that helped him finally conquer the summit.
"I learned how far my body could go and where and when to stop, which could mean the difference between life and death," he said, adding that many climbers succumb to "summit fever", where they become obsessed with reaching the top, and will push on despite their physical and mental health.
Once he began his quest, Salameh saw the true dangers of Everest, coming across several deceased climbers, a constant reminder of his mortality.
An Omani friend he made at base camp, the official starting point of the climb, was found dead of severe frostbite barely past the fourth camp.
When approaching the summit, he found a climber who had frozen to the side of the mountain, but was still conscious, constantly moving his eyes. Salameh attempted to revive him, but was unable to get oxygen into his mouth, which had frozen shut.
"I just held him so he wouldn't die alone. I'll never forget his face," he noted.
But Salameh wouldn't escape Everest without another ailment - this time severe frostbite on a couple of his toes.
"The Sherpas wanted me to turn back; they said I would die. But there was no way I was going home unsuccessful for a third time," he said.
In order to meet his goal of reaching the summit at sunrise on May 25, the Kingdom's independence day, Salameh climbed for 39 hours straight with less than two of hours of sleep.
Climbing through the night, he would bang his legs on the side of the mountain every few steps to make sure that the frostbite had not spread.
When he finally reached the summit at 6:50am, the sun began to rise as he took out the Jordanian flag given to him by HRH Prince Ali to mark the Kingdom's 62nd Independence Day anniversary.
"It was the most beautiful thing you can ever imagine. It was a gift to His Majesty King Abdullah and all of Jordan," he said, adding that without the support of the Monarch and Prince Ali, "it would have never happened".
Once at the summit, he spent 45 minutes savouring what he had sacrificed so much to achieve.
After flying the Jordanian flag, Salameh delivered the call to prayer from the summit, the highest call to prayer ever, and proceeded to pray, with his head touching the summit's peak.
"I was crying. It is so emotional up there because you are so close to death, but even closer to God," he said.
Having conquered the world's Seven Summits, Salameh now plans on venturing to the South and North poles, travelling by foot to the former and being aided by a pack of dogs to the latter by June of next year.
After this, Salameh sees little need to continue his climbing career.
"I'm actually a bit sick of it, to be honest," he said, adding that he is heading off to Spain at the end of the week in an attempt to save the toes that succumbed to severe frostbite on the slopes of Mt. Everest.
After completing his climbing career, Salameh said he would be eager to work in the tourism ministry in an effort to continue promoting the Kingdom abroad, and once again place Jordan on the top of the world.
© Jordan Times 2008
