Dateline Ladakh: Sheetal Raj a passionate 27 year old mountaineer from Uttarakhand has done it once again, standing tall at 6070 meters above sea level on Mount UT Kangdi, Ladakh.
Despite a ligament operation which made everything seem impossible, it took over two years for Sheetal as she put in hours of high altitude training and gave it her all to start climbing again.
“Weather was packed and wind chill was unbearable, close to -35, but i kept at it. I took me close to week to scale the summit, ” she tells me.
Known by her fellow climbers as someone who has a passion for high altitude, extreme temperatures, low oxygen and high velocity winds, Sheetal did not disappoint anyone.
Thanking Hans Foundation and Ethical Himalaya expedition and exploration for their expert mountain guides for making this expedition a possibility, Sheetal looks back with gratitude to her family and guides who kept encouraging her even when she was at an all-time low.
Honored with the coveted Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, Sheetal Raj is the youngest person in the world to have successfully climbed Mount Kanchanjoga, Mount Everest, Annapurna and Adi Kailash. She also led the team onto Mount Chipidung. Won a bronze medal in the Khelo India National Championship. At present the young icon is posted in Uttarakhand Tourism Department as a land specialist on contract basis.
Yet, not all is conquered! Sheetal has lot on her bucket list. She updates me, “There are 14 mountains in the world of 8000 meters, out of which Indians can climb 9 mountains because the rest of the mountains are located in Pakistan. I have successfully climbed 3 mountains. Now I aim to summit Mount Dholagiri in Nepal and Mount Choyu located in China in the coming months.”
Rock bottom has been a spring board for Sheetal Raj. Look out for this space for more on this mountain girl as she summits mountains and makes us proud.
