Shivangi Pathak First Indian Mountaineer

 

An Indian mountaineer, hailing from Hisar, Haryana, Shivangi Pathak is India's youngest mountaineer to have climbed Mt. Everest from the Nepal side. The year 2018 had seen two of the bravest feats of this young girl, making her a very famous sports personality of India. In May 2018, she climbed the world's highest peak, Mt. Everest from the Nepal side. The same year in September she climbed Mt. Elbrus, the highest peak in Russia. A year later, at the age of 17, Pathak successfully climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa.

At the Beginning

Born in August 2002, Shivangi comes from the city of Hisar, Haryana. Her father is a teacher in a Government School, while her mother works in a bank. Pathak from a younger age has drawn inspiration from Arunima Sinha, the first-ever Indian mountain climber to have climbed Everest with a prosthetic leg.

She has also drawn courage and inspiration from MalavathPoorna, another Indian mountain climber who climbed Everest from the Tibet side in 2014. Poorna was the youngest mountaineer to have summited Everest at the mere age of 13.

Growing up in a conservative north Indian town, Pathak has had to face immense challenges to gain recognition amongst the sports personalities of India. In an interview, Pathak claims that her only aim is to conquer the greatest mountains in the world. From a very young age, Pathak has been training herself at Delhi's Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering. Always having the ambition of becoming a legendary mountaineer Pathak has participated in several high-altitude training programs in Kashmir's glacier regions.

Achievements

One of India's youngest mountain climber, Shivangi has shown uninhibited courage to the whole world with the success of this formidable task. At the age of 16, this girl proved her bravado by climbing the world's highest peak, the majestic Mt. Everest. The same year saw another heroic stride of this young girl when she successfully summited Mt. Elbrus, the highest Russian mountain peak.

After these feisty achievements, there was no stopping to the courage and ambition of this Indian sportsperson. She continued to walk on the path of her dreams and conquered Mt. Kilimanjaro, the very next year in 2019. Of all these climbs of valor, reaching the summit of Everest has been the highest peak in her journey and won her accolades from the entire nation. Pathak was reported to have completed her journey in three days via the Marangu route. She started her journey from July 21 and completed her mission successfully by July 24 in the year of 2018. She was congratulated by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on this "stupendous accomplishment."

Struggles

Born in a small town and a country where women have never been encouraged to enter the male-dominated arena of Sports, Shivangi Pathak like any other female sportsperson has had to undergo a lot of struggle and obstacles in her path. Despite efforts and achievements, women in India have often been suppressed in the field of sports. In this environment, an icon like Pathak not only makes the nation proud but is a motivation for hundreds of women to take up aspirations as challenging as mountaineering.

In an interview, she says that with more women achieving such feats, the world will stop undervaluing a woman's potential. She says that as more women become famous Indian sports personalities the world will learn to respect their potential. Very soon women going for practice runs and jogging in their pair of shorts will soon not be an eyesore anymore.

Matching up to her male counterparts in mountaineering was Shivangi's target for quite some time. With the record of climbing Everest from the Nepal side at the young age of 16, she holds the title of "The Eagle of Mountain". She has dedicated and trained herself in mountaineering from a very young age, a time when dreams are limitless. Shivangi is one such woman who is living her dream with the completion of every magical mission and motivating hundreds of women to believe that there is no mountain or no height that they should fear based on gender stereotype.

After completing her training in basic and advanced mountaineering at Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering, Delhi, she has taken part in several climbing programs and training activities that have made her reach her peak of glory.

Looking Forward

Regarded as a famous Indian sportspersonnow, the bright young woman, Shivangi has the dreams to conquer every peak in the world. Her strength and determination keep her motivated in the pursuit of challenges.

Having already proven her chops by climbing the Everest, Elbrus, and Kilimanjaro, Shivangi has established that the highest mountains in the world couldn't stop her. Now, she'll surely be setting sights on other majestic climbs in the future, making India prouder of her accomplishments.

Pathak who has become a firebrand in the field of mountain climbing has miles to go and a lot of hurdles to conquer.