KOZHIKODE: When Safrina Latheef stood on top of the world, her vision was blurred – but her purpose had never been clearer.
A home baker with sugared hands and a mother’s heart, Safrina had never imagined that one day she’d trade her cake tools for crampons, or swap the soft textures of fondant for the sharp bite of the Himalayan winds. Yet, last week, on May 18, this quiet, determined woman from Vengad, near Mattanur, in Kannur district, who is settled in Qatar, became the first woman from Kerala to summit Mount Everest.
What makes her story extraordinary isn’t just the fact that she conquered the world’s highest peak. It’s how she got there: Through sacrifice, snowstorms, and self-belief. From crafting delicate cakes to battling snow blindness in the Death Zone, Safrina has become an inspiration for women all around.
Like many around the world, the Covid pandemic brought Safrina and her husband, Dr Shameel Musthafa – a surgeon at Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar–to a standstill. “While the world turned to baking and binge-watching, we turned to fitness,” she recalls. “We had zero stamina, but we joined a gym. And somewhere in that stillness, I heard the whisper of an old dream: Mountains.”
In just four years, Safrina scaled Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m) in Tanzania, Aconcagua (6,961 m) in Argentina, and Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) in Russia. She even trained on the icy glaciers in Kazakhstan.
A pricey commitment
Climbing Everest isn’t just about fitness or altitude tolerance. It’s also about commitment – financial and emotional. For Safrina and her husband, that meant selling their apartment in Bengaluru to fund the expedition, which cost over 80,000 US dollars. “The decision wasn’t easy. But once we made the first payment of $68,000, I told myself: ‘There’s no turning back. It’s just the mountain and me now.’” By January 2025, the preparations became rigorous. With her husband injured and unable to join, Safrina began solo training under a specialised coach in Doha. “I used to tell my trainer, ‘I don’t want muscles!’ Now I know: Those muscles saved my life.”
Ascent of a lifetime
On April 12, Safrina began her trek to Everest Base Camp. By April 28, her first rotation to Camp 1 began – a 16-hour crawl through an icy maze. Each ascent was gruelling: Camp 1 to Camp 2, a quick stop at Camp 3, then back down. Her body slowly adapted to the thin air and brutal temperatures.
But the real test was still ahead. On May 14, when the weather window opened for the summit push, doubts crept in. “I called my husband and told him I wanted to come back. But he reminded me: ‘This was our dream.’” “I pushed on,” she said. At 7,100 m, in Camp 3, oxygen became essential. The climb to Camp 4--known as the Death Zone--was haunting. “I saw the body of a Filipino climber who had died just two days ago, and many other dead bodies. My heart raced. I was scared. But my guide kept me going. On May 17 at 8 pm, Safrina and her guide began their final ascent. The path was congested, the temperature bit through bone, and frostbite began creeping in. Still, at 10:25 am Nepal time on May 18, the 37-year-old stood atop the world.
“I hoisted the Indian and Qatari flags. I stayed there for 45 minutes, longer than most. I wanted to take in the moment. I removed my glasses just to see Everest clearly with my own eyes.” But that moment at a price. “I was hit by snow blindness. I couldn’t see. The descent became a nightmare.” Her guide tied a rope to her and led her down in the darkness. Her body ached. Her hands swelled. Her eyes burned. She reached Camp 4 ten hours later. “I kept telling myself: ‘I don’t want my husband to spend $50,000 to bring back my dead body. I have to survive this.’”
She did. After a helicopter evacuation to Kathmandu, Safrina was treated for frostbite and vision loss. Speaking to TNIE from her hospital bed, she said, “I gave my husband and daughter proper goodbyes before leaving. I knew the risks. But I made it back. Alive. And full of stories for my daughter. I want to be her inspiration.”
Award-winning cake artist
This isn’t Safrina’s only success story. With her brand ‘Zafrin-Bespoke Sugartales,’ she is an award-winning cake artist. She won accolades at Cakeology 2020 for a cake honouring Covid front-line workers. “I’m not just a woman who climbed Everest,” she says. “I’m a mother, an artist, a former banker-and now, a mountaineer. You can be many things. Your mountain might not be Everest, but climb it anyway.” Mount Everest may have tested her limits, but it also revealed her boundless strength. And now, standing on the summit of inspiration, Safrina is ready for her next climb.