Joyce Azzam;
the 1st Lebanese Female Mountaineer to Complete the 7 Summits Challenge
Joyce Azzam is an elite mountaineer on her way to becoming the 2nd female in the world to complete the Full Explorers’ Grand Slam: completing the 7 summits challenge, a distance of over 112,000 km (70,000 miles) and reaching the 2 poles traversing a distance of 1900 km (1180 miles) Denali in Alaska and Vinson in Antarctica.
“I’m on my way to accomplishing all of my goals.
Slowly but surely” ~ Dr. Joyce Azzam
The Person Behind the Mountaineer
Born in the heart of Lebanon, Beirut, Joyce Azzam’s first breaths to this world were on June 24, 1984, in the midst of the Lebanese Civil War, with a chronic lung condition. And her first steps were accompanied by her hypermobility syndrome.
Because of the conditions she was born into, Joyce’s childhood wasn’t a normal or smooth one.
“I remember how my parents used to carry me and my siblings and run from one bunker to another, always living underground,“ she says.
Early on, Joyce was never into sports, because of her physical condition. She was never into adventure because of her fear of heights. And she was constantly doubting herself because of all the bullying at school due to her physical condition of hypermobility syndrome.
Until she decided that her circumstances and conditions aren’t a limitation, but a starting point to knowing her strengths and working on her weaknesses.
With the phrase “nothing is impossible” as a state of mind, she started running every day.
Joyce wasn’t always a mountaineer, as she studied Architecture at the Lebanese University and earned a Ph.D. in Landscape and Environment from the Sapienza University of Rome, as well as 3 Master’s degrees.
Joyce’s Achievements & Ambassadorships
- The 1st Lebanese woman, 1 of the first 3 women in the Arab World, and 1 of the first 75 women to climb the tallest mountain on every continent; the 7 Summits Challenge
- Scaled 30+ of the most challenging mountains around the world, including Mt. Everest, Kilimanjaro, and Denali in Alaska, and Vinson in Antarctica
- UN Women National Goodwill Ambassador for Lebanon , 2023
- Ambassador of The Lebanese Mountain Trail and has traversed the full trail from north to south – 470 km in 20 days 2022
- Ambassador for Mission Education NGO, 2022-2023
- Ambassador of the Lebanese Ice Hockey Federation (women’s team) 2020-2022
- Goodwill Ambassador for Himalayan Life International 2020-2021
- Child Protection Advocate for HIMAYA NGO 2017-2019
Joyce’s Mountaineering Philosophy
“I found myself being expected to fail, and be conditioned with my physical condition, so I decided to do what hasn’t been done, and what’s not expected of me as a woman, and an Arab, and even more so because I have hypermobility syndrome. I trained consistently. I trained with a goal in mind. And I achieved my goal.
As always,
“Slowly IS Surely”
Joyce told us.
Joyce used to go through intensive training of more than 20 hours per week. When she decided that she wanted to climb mountains and break records, she understood how much planning and training she needed.
Joyce says she had the perfect preparation and support and that’s why she was able to do all the things she did.
She aims to inspire the younger generations, especially girls to pursue their dreams without fear and to be bold.
Joyce has broken massive records in the male-dominated mountaineering scene, but she’s also broken social stigmas around women focusing on their careers, especially as mountaineers, and limiting beliefs around the constraints of physical conditions, and gender-assumed capabilities.