by Maria Spiliopoulou, Valentini Anagnostopoulou

ATHENS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Eight years ago, when Christina Flampouri with her cousin in tow tried her hand at climbing for the first time in her life near Athens, the attempt turned out to be a flop. Through hard work and determination, she has since overcome her fear of heights and in 2019 Flampouri became the first Greek woman to climb the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest (8,848 meters).

A few months later she became the first Greek woman to reach the South Pole, and in early 2020 she climbed Mount Vinson (4,892 meters), the highest peak in Antarctica, becoming the first Greek female alpinist to conquer the coveted Seven Summits - the highest mountains on each of the world's seven continents.

To date, only 400-odd climbers have claimed this major mountaineering achievement, among them 70 women.

"Nothing is impossible" was 32-year-old Flampouri's message to women and men, girls and boys around the world when she was interviewed by Xinhua on the occasion of International Women's Day, March 8.

This day "is an opportunity to acknowledge the power that women have, bringing life to the world. It is also an opportunity to acknowledge the power that every person has within him or her," she said.

"When you reach the highest peak of the world you realize the power that a person has within him or her. We are capable of doing anything, and I think that this is a message that we all need to keep in mind. There is no obstacle one cannot cross. There is no peak one cannot reach, as long as we work very hard and are committed to our goals," she stressed.

Flampouri was not a sporty person before she took up mountaineering. But it was a challenge and she could not ignore it. As a marketing and sales manager at a multinational company, she was used to setting and achieving goals.

As she gradually discovered the beauty of the mountains, she decided to step on the top of the world, Mount Everest.

She practiced climbing on smaller mountains across the globe, drawing on her experience in project management to organize her expeditions.

"When I reached the top of the world and I was the first woman to unfurl the Greek flag there, I felt joy and honor. However, the most important feeling I have since that day is the confidence that really everything is possible," she told Xinhua.

"Through a lot of hard work, you can achieve anything."

Climbing has changed her. "The mountains have helped me a lot to manage my stress and to have confidence that I can achieve anything in my life," she explained.

For three years now, Flampouri has also been a motivational speaker. She wants to share her life lessons and inspire others, children and adults, to follow their dreams, set targets and conquer peaks in their everyday life.

Stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Flampouri decided to write and publish a fairy tale titled "7 peaks," which tells the story of young Christina to motivate children to work hard, collaborate in a team, be patient and committed to achieve goals.

After the pandemic is over, Flampouri plans to visit China to climb Mount Everest from the Tibet side and to explore other mountains in the country with her Chinese friend, who she met when she first climbed Everest and who taught her to use chopsticks while camping at 6,300 meters.

Although she has already reached the top of the world, she keeps setting new goals and she is grateful for the support she has received from her family and friends.

Currently pregnant, she is focusing on her job and her speeches, but she intends to return to the mountains at a later stage.

Recalling that when climbing mountains she was exposed to stereotypes because of her gender, Flampouri told Xinhua she will teach her child to never distinguish people by gender, as her parents had done before, and she will continue to pursue her goals in her career and in everyday life. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)