Leila Esfandyari

Leila Esfandyari (Persian: لیلا اسفندیاری‎; Feb 17, 1970 in Karaj, Iran – July 22, 2011, Gasherbrum II, Pakistan) was an Iranian mountain climber.[1] Esfandyari was the first Iranian woman to scale the summit of Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas, the world’s ninth highest peak with an altitude of 8,125 metres and one of the deadliest peaks. Esfandyari is regarded as a pioneer in the women’s mountain climbing movement, being one of few women in the world to have completed a similar attempt.[2][3]

Leila Esfandyari
BornFeb 17, 1970 (1970-02-17)
Karaj, Iran
DiedJuly 22, 2011(2011-07-22) (aged 41)
Gasherbrum II, Pakistan
NationalityIranian
EducationBachelor of Microbiology
OccupationClimber

Education and career

Esfandyari was brought up and educated in Tehran, Iran, receiving a bachelor's degree in microbiology. She worked as a microbiologist in a Tehran hospital before she left her job to climb K2 in the Himalayas in 2010.[4][5][6][7]

Death

On July 22, 2011, she successfully completed the ascent to Gasherbrum II, one of the highest peaks on the Karakoram range of the Himalayas.[8] Minutes after, on the way down, her foot slipped on the ice and she fell 300 meters down the mountain. She had said once before that: "If I fall, let me remain where I am." In accordance to her wishes, her body now rests in the icy heights of the Himalayan Mountain range.

Notes
  1. Alpine Club of Iran:http://www.alpineclub.ir/en
  2. 'The South Asian Life & Times': http://www.the-south-asian.com/jan%202004/women_climberseverest.htm
  3. EXPLORERSWEB: http://www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php
  4. Jadid Online reports: http://www.jadidonline.com/story/25072011/frnk/leila_esfandyari_climber_eng
  5. Peyman And His Tonbak: http://tonbak.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/iranian-female-mountain-climber-died/
  6. Official website of Damavand Mountaineering Society: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2012-12-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. (in Persian) لیلا اسفندیاری
  8. K2 Blog: http://k2bottleneck.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/leila-esfandyari-dies-after-making-summit-of-gasherbrum-2/
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