What It’s like to be the World’s Youngest Woman to Climb Kanchenjunga

On the morning of May 21, Sheetal saw, for the first time, the sun rise from below her. Sitting atop the peak of the world’s third highest mountain, Kanchenjunga, she scanned the landscape that unfolded before her: in front lay China; India was to her right; Nepal lay to her left. For an hour and a half, as she sat on a snow-clad rock, Sheetal played out the inconceivable odds she had just faced, and defied, to get here. And then she cried.

If you see the 22-year old back at her village in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, you’d never guess that she is the youngest woman in the world to climb Kanchenjunga. Born to a taxi-driver father and homemaker mother, Sheetal lives her life pretty much the same way a pahadi mahila (a woman from the mountains) does: she cooks for her family, depends on the forest for fuel and fodder, tills the family land, and milks the cows. The only difference is that she is not married.

Defying All Odds

Sheetal’s practice drills begin with 10-km walks everyday. That’s how she built her endurance. But much before she scaled Kanchenjunga, her grit helped her win major life battles. “After I passed class 10, my grandmother arranged a marriage for me. I was only 15. My parents supported her out of respect. But I refused to bow down to the pressure. I wanted to do something with my life. It’s only after my grandmother passed away two years later that I was able to get out of the situation,” says Sheetal.

By then, her classmates from her village school were all getting married. “Now they are busy raising their children. Some of them have two children. We don’t get to meet often, but when we do, they say, ‘‘Teri to life ban gayi hai. Kaash hum bhi shaadi nahi karte (You are doing well in your life. We wish we were also not married),’” she says. Each morning, while her friends run behind their children to send them off to school, Sheetal sets off for a 10-km run in the mountains. Right now, she’s preparing for the Panchachuli expedition in the Kumaon Himalayas, set to take off in October. “With a husband, kids and parents-in-law, their life isn’t theirs anymore. They have to take care of other people more than themselves. But I am following my dreams.”

Race to the Summit
Traditionally, education for girls has not been a priority in Indian villages. Says Sheetal’s mother, Sapna Devi, “It’s common to think of a girl child as a burden and marry her off as early as possible.” Even after Sheetal climbed the peaks of Trishul in Uttarakhand and Deo Tibba in Himachal Pradesh in 2015, her parents had no idea what mountaineering was, though they were excited to find her photographs in local newspapers.

Now, however, they impatiently await opportunities to cheer for her next achievement. Sheetal’s main preoccupation is arranging funds for her dream to conquer Mount Everest. It’s become a challenge more arduous than climbing. Her father’s rented taxi rides earn the household a meagre pay — barely enough for the family that includes two younger brothers. “My friends in the National Cadet Corps and rock-climbing clubs paid for mountaineering courses. I didn’t even have ₹800 for the membership fees of the Indian Mountaineering Federation. They helped me out,” says Sheetal. Her expedition to Kanchenjunga was funded by ONGC.

Neither the country nor the state government provided any welcome or reward to her. “Scaling Everest won’t be possible without any sponsorship or support from the government,” she says, her voice carrying a tinge of hope and helplessness together. Nevertheless, she doesn’t want to stop believing in her dream. “I want to climb all the highest 14 peaks of the world. My journey has just begun.”