Updated May 12, 2026 11:06AM
The Taliban stopped the bus halfway to Kabul.
“There were maybe 15 or 16 people on the bus,” River Ahmad told me at Mount Everest Base Camp in early May. “And I was the only woman.”
It was 2014, the final year of the U.S. and NATO combat operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan, and River Ahmad was taking the bus from Ghazni province in the country’s southeast to Kabul. River had told her father she was traveling to the capital to study dentistry, and he’d agreed to buy her a bus ticket. But secretly, River, who was 18 at the time, hoped to become a journalist in Kabul, so that she could report on women’s rights.
The Taliban fighters entered the bus, River said. Then, without warning, they opened fire on the passengers. Amidst the flying bullets, River thought quickly. By chance, she happened to be on her period. She quickly wiped handfuls of blood across her face and pretended to be dead, as the gunmen walked down the aisles looking for survivors.
As the two gunmen walked the length of the bus, they stopped at her seat. “The gunmen checked me,” she said. “One said ‘this prostitute is dead already’ and they walked away.”
Twelve people on the bus were killed, she said. River was one of only three survivors.
A Quest to Become Afghanistan’s First Woman on Everest
It’s been 12 years since River survived the bus attack, and her life today is far different from what it was in Afghanistan. This spring, River, who is now 30, is one of the 492 permitted climbers at Mount Everest Base Camp aiming to reach the summit.
But she is the only woman from Afghanistan here to climb the peak. If she succeeds, River will be the first woman from her country to ever reach the world’s highest point.
“I would love to inspire women in Afghanistan,” River told me. “I would love for the world to understand that women can do different things, and we are strong. You cannot put us in a box.”
By climbing, she wants to continue her life’s work of advocating for women back home in Afghanistan.
I met River at 17,500 feet above sea level in a warm dome tent at Everest Base Camp, and felt immediately at ease in her presence. She gave off a warmth that cut through the cold, snowy day. River was quick to laugh and even quicker to smile. Her small frame was lost underneath a pink Gore-Tex jacket with the sleeves rolled up to fit her arms. A small jeweled septum ring hung from her nose as she spoke to me. Over many glasses of steaming ginger tea, she recounted her story. I hardly believed that she started learning English only two years ago.
Unlike many Everest hopefuls I’ve met at Base Camp, River is not new to climbing. She honed her mountaineering skills as a teenager in the rugged mountains of her home district, Ghazni, in Afghanistan. The Ghanzi mountains soar above the high plateau, with the tallest peaks reaching above 15,000 feet.
From a young age, River knew that the traditional gender roles of Afghan society weren’t for her. When she turned 12, many of her friends who were girls were married. She was no longer able to associate with the male friends she grew up with. Instead of following the societal path, she cajoled her father into letting her join the local mountaineering club.
“The mountains were the only place I felt safe from people judging me, trying to put me in a box, trying to tell me to just get married,” she told me. “Joining the mountaineering club was very difficult because I was a lady, I was a woman.”
River explained how mountaineering has been a coping mechanism for her from a young age.
“When I felt pressure, I just went to the mountains anyway with a book to read,” she said
Finding a New Life and a New Name in Australia
River also told me about her life after the fateful bus attack in 2014. After she finally arrived in Kabul, River started a successful career as a radio journalist. She frequently covered women’s issues and advocated for equality, but under a pseudonym. But her anonymity and her work didn’t last. Once the Taliban figured out who was behind the voice, it was no longer safe for her to stay in Afghanistan.
“At the end of 2019, I got a warning from the government and the Taliban,” she said. “They told me I should not keep advocating for women’s rights. I was also attacked many times. It wasn’t safe.”
River fled Kabul for India, where she lived for three and a half years. Then, she obtained a humanitarian visa and relocated to Australia.
The move to Australia had a dramatic impact on her life. “River” is not the name she was given at birth. While in Australia, she was inspired to change her first name to reflect her new beginning.
“I was on a hike in the forest. I sat and looked down at the river below me and thought about how beautiful it was, how pure. How it continued on without stopping,” she said. “That’s when I decided to change my name to River.”
River’s family followed her to Australia, believing they could be targets of the Taliban as well. The transition wasn’t easy for them. River said her brother died by suicide. Her father blamed her.
“My father told me that if I hadn’t been a journalist, that if I had just followed Islam, my brother would still be alive,” she said. “Then I was homeless for a while, I was not able to cope and to be happy in life.”
River remembered her roots in climbing. One day, she set out to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the world’s largest steel-arch bridge. Guided tours lead groups across the bridge, and at the top, tourists can enjoy panoramic views of the city. When River reached the top, she looked out over the harbor and the city and felt something shift.
“I was there, above the sky, and felt like my life was different. I realized I have to do different things. I have to feel happy again,” she said.
She was overcome by memories from her past, of the mountains she had climbed in Afghanistan, from her school days. “That’s when I decided that I wanted to climb Everest,” she said.
River started raising funds for her expedition. She worked night shifts at Ikea and in a packing plant. During the day, she trained for her climb, and also worked as a radio journalist. Eventually, she convinced an Everest expedition company to take her on for 50 percent of the total cost, with a promise to pay the rest after the trip.
“I still used all my savings,” she said.
A Strong Climber at Extreme Altitude
River has been in Nepal this spring, and has already shown that she excels at high altitude. She completed acclimatization ascents of 21,247-foot Mera Peak and 20,075-foot Lobuche East. She quickly made her way from Camp II at 21,000 feet up to Camp III at 23,300 feet on Everest on her first acclimatization rotation, and returned to Base Camp in a single day.
That’s a route that most climbers take at least two days to complete.
I asked River how she feels about being in the mountains again. I also wondered aloud if maybe being in danger again was something that helped her process her traumatic past.
“I think war is more scary than the mountains,” she said.
River told me that living amid the icy rock walls of Everest, and the looming towers of ice in the Khumbu Icefall, feels much safer to her than her old life back in Afghanistan.
“While I climbed, my brain was thinking about how you can survive in war. I feel like this is much safer than being back home,” she said. “This climb is making me stronger, it’s teaching me to understand dangerous situations more nicely and calmly. In a human way.”
River marveled at how Everest and the other high peaks in the Himalayas are places for personal challenge and recreation, which is far different from how the high peaks in Afghanistan are used.
“In Afghanistan, we use our beautiful mountains for war,” she continued. “Here, people challenge themselves in a good way.”
As I poured the last mug of ginger tea from the large stainless steel thermos, our conversation came to a close. We hugged, and I watched River skip down the stone steps set atop the glacier towards her camp. She moved across the frozen path with confidence and grace. I watched her for a long time, remembering another thing she told me: “If I climb Mount Everest, I will show women in Afghanistan, you can do whatever in life you want.”
