BackThis 6-year-old girl becomes youngest Indian to climb Mount Everest base camp
Nepal is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring climbing season, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.
PremiumArishka Laddha, a six-year-old from Maharashtra's Pune city has become the youngest Indian girl to climb the Mt. Everest Base camp. The base camp lies at more than 17,500 ft. Arishka who resides in Pune's Kothrud did this 15 days expedition with her mother Dimple Laddha.
As reported by Times Now, the mother daughter duo completed the trek in harsh temperatures ranging between -3 to -17 degrees. To beat the harsh temperatures, the little girl was layered with 7-8 clothes. "I felt happy. It was too cold there. We saw Yak and Mule," Arshika said while speaking to Times Now.
The little one also expressed her wish to climb the Mount Everest. “I want to climb Everest Summit," she told the daily. Her mother Dimple too agreed and spoke about training her daughter professionally. If she reciprocates well then we will plan for Mount Everest Summit. If required I will also prepare for the same," Dimple told the daily.
Sharing her experience, the girl's mother Dimple said it was an impromptu plan and experts did tell her to take her daughter at her own risk as usually children above 12 years of age climb the base camp. However, she added that her daughter had an active lifestyle and both often trekked forts in Pune.
"I was told to take the child at our own risk. Generally, my daughter is an active kid. On alternate Saturday and Sunday, we climb forts surrounding Pune. We have repeatedly climbed Sinhagadh," Dimple Laddha," she told the daily.
Meanwhile, Nepal is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring climbing season, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.
A record number of climbers, almost 1,000 including the Nepali guides who form the backbone of the industry are expected to attempt the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) ascent in the coming weeks, a report by AFP has said.
Everest, known as Sagarmatha in Nepali and Chomolungma in Tibetan, has captured the imagination of climbers ever since it was identified as the world's tallest mountain above sea level. The first expedition was launched in 1921 by the British, but it would take another 32 years and several more expeditions before Nepali Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary would finally reach its summit. Seventy years on, commercialisation has drawn crowds of climbers to the slopes of the mountain, and more than 6,000 people have reached its summit. A majority of them have been in the last two decades.
The cost to climb the Mount Everest range from $45,000 to $200,000, depending on the services included and the level of luxury. This includes an $11,000 permit for foreign climbers, plus travel, insurance, kit and most importantly, guides. According to the Himalayan Database, Everest has always been dangerous, with more than 300 people killed since climbing began.
Experts have said that a major risk factor that lies is also the sheer number of climbers and that some of them are ill-prepared thrill-seekers. In 2019, a massive traffic jam on Everest forced teams to wait hours in freezing temperatures, lowering depleted oxygen levels that can lead to sickness and exhaustion. At least four of the 11 deaths that year were blamed on overcrowding.
This year, Nepal has already issued 466 permits to foreign climbers, and since most will need a guide, more than 900 people will try and summit this season, which runs until early June.
This year, Chinese nationals have received the most permits, with 96, and U.S. climbers have received the second most with 87, while climbers from India got 40, a report by Reuters stated. The second climbing season runs from September to November but is not as popular.
(With inputs from agencies)
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