Asian Women scaling new heights in Mountaineering

Asian Women scaling new heights in Mountaineering

Everest tableax on Republic Day representing the brave women in the Indian Armed Forces who have climbed Everest(8850m)

 

As the 66th Republic Day Parade wound its way along Rajpath, in front of the cream of India's political class as well as President and Mrs. Obama, one of the first floats was of 7 mountaineers, Everest summiteers and military officers-all women. These brave young women were loudly cheered as they stood there, in their high altitude climbing gear, giving the crowds the merest glimpse of the courage and strength and team work it took to climb to the roof of the world. This very public celebratory moment was a fitting touch to a year that saw women reaching new heights, both literally and metaphorically, in 2014. Across the subcontinent in 2014, women were out there, climbing, achieving, returning safely, and all without any of the fanfare and hype and fan base that accompany other sporting achievements in our country. So let’s do our bit of cheering here for the women of India, Pakistan and Nepal who made us all so proud in 2014, and who have inspired us to push onwards and upwards in 2015. Let’s start with our very own Tashi & Nungshi Malik, twin sisters from Dehradun who completed the Seven Summits in December-2014, becoming the first ever siblings to achieve this extraordinary feat. The Seven Summits are, as the name implies, the seven highest peaks on seven continents, and to climb them all is a stupendous achievement.  Not only  do you need phenomenal stamina and skill and hard work, you also need persistence and perseverance in raising the necessary funds.

Dehradun Twin Sisters Tashi and Nungshi Malik who completed their 7 Summits Quest in Dec,2014

 

Mount Everest is, of course, one of the Seven Summits, and when these 2 young girls summited Everest in 2013 they became the first ever twin sisters in the world to climb to the roof of the world. Just to put Tashi and Nungshi’s achievements in perspective – only one Indian man has so far climbed all the 7 Summits. Across the border, in Pakistan, Samina Baig made her very own record by climbing the Seven Summits at the young age of 23. Samina also entered the record books when she summited Everest : she became the first Pakistani woman (and only the third Pakistani) to climb Mount Everest, and also the youngest Muslim woman to climb Everest, having done so at the age of 21.Interestingly, Samina Baig and her brother where accompanied by Indian Malik Sisters when they climbed Everest.  

Samina Baig who became the first to climb Everest and complete 7 Summits from from Pakistan

 

As 2014 drew to a close, news came in from our other neighbour, Nepal, that a team of Nepali women (including Pema Diki Sherpa, Nimdoma Sherpa, Chunu Shrestha, Maya Gurung) had made their own world record by climbing the Seven Summits. With the successful climb of the highest point in Antarctica, Mount Vinson Massif, at 3pm on December 23, the Seven Summits Women team, comprising seven Nepali women from diverse ethnic and social backgrounds, became the first women team ever to scale the seven highest summits on seven continents.

The 7 Nepali Women who completed 7 Summits in Dec,2014

 

These young women are an inspiration, each and every one of them. Here at White Magic Adventure Travel we are noticing a growing interest in outdoor sports and extreme physical challenges by women of all ages, and we welcome it.  From trekking, climbing to water sports such as rafting and kayaking, more and more women are out there, keeping fit, having fun, and pushing their own boundaries.  They are travelling and adventuring alone, or with their partners, and increasingly in all women groups. We await the news of yet more successes in 2015.  

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