Endurance athlete Sam Gash has taken on many physical feats that most of us would never imagine being able to achieve. She’s also a passionate advocate for women and girls in developing countries and is using her latest expedition to draw attention to the urgent need for their equality.

Currently undertaking a 1000-mile traverse in Nepal on the Great Himalaya Trail, the 50-day journey has challenged Gash in ways she didn’t expect, both physically and emotionally.

Speaking via WhatsApp in the early hours, Gash recounts her experience of being trapped in a severe weather system and witnessing the devastating impact landslides have had on local communities along the trail.

Gash, and her companion Dr Jessie Ling, were forced to take shelter at one point in a regional airport in the Dolpa region, when they were unable to get through the mountain passes.

“We’ve been through the ringer,” Gash says. “We’ve been grounded at airports. The status of women across Nepal is considerably inferior to that of men, particularly in some of the remote, conservative parts of the country. People have laughed at us. We weren’t given the correct information. It’s been very challenging.”

Raising funds for World Vision’s work empowering women and girls in rural parts of Nepal, Gash is offering protection and life skills to help reduce rates of child marriage, gender-based violence and negative customs around menstruation.

“I’m a mum,” she explains. “It’s a big deal to be away from my four-year-old son and I want to make this time count. I want it to mean something beyond just a physical exploration.

“Through my career as an endurance athlete I’ve suffered physically a lot. But I think you want to make that kind of degree of discomfort count for something.”

Having competed on Australian Survivor in 2017, as well as making headlines for partaking in ultra-marathons in Chile, China, the Sahara Desert and Antarctica, Gash’s tenacity, commitment and resilience is well-known and admired in Australia. She also drew global attention when she ran 3253 kilometres from west to east across India.

Again, through this latest pursuit, it’s difficult to comprehend the determination required to achieve what Gash and Ling already have. Even Gash admits she had to enter this adventure with an open mind and flexible expectations.

But at the core of her ambition, is a desire to contribute to social justice as well as a ready willingness to dive in headfirst.

“Early on in my career, I wanted to be a lawyer for the UN, so contributing to social impact and social justice issues has really been at the core of what I’ve explored,” she says.

“It’s been interesting how it’s transpired, with exploration and adventure becoming my vehicle.

“I’ve got that sense of exploration and curiosity, I don’t have a fixed mindset and like asking a lot of questions, often in really complicated environments where you are trying to come to terms with differences of cultures and languages.”

As an endurance athlete, Gash says it’s often been challenging to draw attention to her work, noting the adventure scene is very heavily male-dominated.

“I’m going to tell you it’s not glamorous,’ she says. “Adventure on the whole is not a typically female held space. It’s incredibly hard to get support to merely get to the start line. Then you get to the start line and then people don’t really want to see a woman traversing a country. It’s not entertainment for them.”

But despite this, Gash says she’s undeterred. The adversity fuels her to keep going and find new challenges to overcome in a bid to help others.

“Setbacks will always open up opportunities if you’re willing to take yourself there.”