Campaign Story

About me

Hello I am Uta Ibrahimi, born and raised in Kosova. In 2017, I became the first Albanian woman to summit Everest (8,848m) and Manasulu (8,163m), two of the highest mountains in the Himalayas range – and this is where the idea to climb all 14 peaks (or the “eight-thousanders”) began.

Up to know, I have climbed many around the world. My climbing expeditions have taken me to many places, and here I’ll name a few: Musala 2,925m (Bulgaria), Olimp 2,918m (Greece), Jezera 2,694m, (Albania), Triglav 2,998m (Slovenia), Tito VRV 2,745m (Macedonia), Gjeravica 2,656m (Kosovo), Ercyes 3,916m (Turkey), Mount Hasan 3,200m (Turkey), Emler 3,500m (Turkey), Mont Blanc 4,880m (France), Yalung Peak 5,700m (Himalaya), Nurbu Peak 5,800m (Himalaya), Ramdung Peak 5,925m (Himalaya).

My love for our nature, our land, made me quit my job in marketing in 2015 and from then on, I embarked on numerous hikes, bicycle road-trips, trail-runs, and rock-climbing expeditions. I was part of the USAID founded project “Via Dinarica” project, cross-border tourism project in the Sharr Mountain (GIZ) and the Reel Rock Festival 2015(US Embassy founded). My company, the Butterfly Outdoors – an outdoor tours company in the Balkans, I’m establishing a climbing community in Kosova and Albania by supporting the creation of new climbing routes.

I have dedicated my life to showing the beauty of our mountains, of our nature. My training routines, my ever-growing experience on mountains, the sheer determination, and your help, will push me to achieve the goal that only a few have reached before: Climbing all 14 peaks of the Himalayas.

The Expedition

This fundraising campaign is for the 3rd and 4th peaks (climbs for 2018) of the Himalaya-range and they could prove to be the hardest because of the nature of the peaks in question: Mount Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain in the world (planned for May); and the second highest, K2 (planned for August). K2, in particular, is extremely difficult due to it very steep slopes and is seldom attempted, and even more people fail to reach its summit.

The full expedition is to climb all 14 of the 8,000-meter peaks by 2023, for a combined total elevation of 101,746 meters. My plan is to climb 2 peaks per year for the next 6 years.

The reason behind the Expedition

There are many reasons for attempting all 14 peaks and each is important in its own right. First, I’d like to raise awareness of Kosova’s and Albania’s highlands, mountains, and nature, to tourists from all around the world. Let’s invite everyone to enjoy our mountains, our peaks. As a female climber, I also want to raise awareness on the gender issues on our society – Yes, it is possible that a female from Kosova can climb the world’s highest peak (Mount Everest). I do wish this will get more girls reaching to climb rocks and peaks.

I want to bring hope, to inspire people to find ways to conquer their own peaks—regardless of what their personal challenges might be.

My expeditions should be seen as achievements for Kosova and the Albanian nation as a whole. I will be forever carrying both flags at every peak, reminding me from the small country I come from and what achievements we can reach.

Your help

This is a difficult expedition—on many fronts. Each summit requires months of planning, training, searching for resources, and deep soul-searching. For the 3rd and 4th peaks, I need 15,000 EUR. Here are my costs, broken down to details:

Gear and equipment

1,000 EUR

2 x flight tickets (Prishtina – Khatmandu and Pakistan round-trip)

2,000 EUR

Accommodation in Kathmandu (2 x 6 nights)

500 EUR

Full board expedition for Lhotse peak (partial)

5,000 EUR

Full board expedition for K2 peak (partial)

5,000 EUR

10% Creditcard-, banktransfer- and KOSOVA ideas Platform Fees

1,500 EUR

Funding goal/Budget of campaign

15,000 EUR