Tata Steel and Adventure Foundation (TSAF) in association with Ministry of Tourism, along with the Indian Army, came up with a solution that others might consider impossible.
Yes, the idea of enabling 14 women who are past their prime and in their sixties to climb a 16,500 feet peak sounds incredible. But under the leadership of Bachendri Pal, the first woman climber to climb Mount Everest. And guess what raving all odds these 14 women have made it possible.
These 14 women named Chandra Prabha, Gangotri, Meenakshi, Shilpa, Vasumati, Bimala, Annapurna, Payo, Krishna, Sushma, Asha, Nanda, Seema gathered all their courage and succeeded in achieving a feat which raised eyebrows. Wonder. Yes, these women, the oldest of whom is 82-year-old Arjun Awardee and Padmashree Chandraprabha, climbed the 16500 feet high Bailey Trail Glacier in the Himalayas of Arunachal Pradesh. Starting from the beautiful and enchanting valleys of Jemithang to Mago and then to Gorichen Peak situated amidst the white snow covered snow peaks, this journey lasted for four days and four nights and the 30 days long itinerary finally ended in Kaziranga, Assam.
This achievement titled “Summits and Steering Wheels” is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Fit India movement, which is further promoted by organizer “Oxbow Media” and overlanding partner “Grey Ghost Expedition”.
We got in touch with Bachendri and all the Chandra Prabha who shed light on the difficulty level of the trek.
What re the main challenges you faced while climbing?
There were challenges galore. Given the fact that we are not young anymore, to climb to a peak of 16500 feet with the huge luggage that weighs almost 20 Kgs is no mean task at this juncture of our life. So that in itself was a challenge but the biggest one was to fight the mindset of the people that we interacted with along the way who thought it was stupid for us to even think that we could summit this height at this age. (turning to Chandra Prabha she continues) Didi, is 82 years old but that hasn’t dampened her enthusiasm one it. We made sure we got to the summit so that the world gets to see and hear about these prejudices that we were faced with along the way was absolute ridiculous and rubbish!
HCM Dr @himantabiswa expressed his pleasure on learning that a 14 member all women expedition team led by Everester & Padma Bhushan awardee Bachendri Pal ji visited Kazairanga National Park & motivated the forest frontline force, after completing the 18-day long Fit@50+ summit. pic.twitter.com/E5YVnNsIE3
— Chief Minister Assam (@CMOfficeAssam) October 30, 2023
Were you faced with any hardships with the team?
I have chosen everyone in the team. I know all of them and some of us even have climbed together, but having said that just like in a family, a conflict in a team cannot be evaded. We do have our tiffs but those are settled pretty fast. At the end of the day we all are human.
How to do you respond to the love that has been showered to you y the Indian Army and the Chief Minister of Assam?
It has been heartening, everyone has been very gracious and loving. It is a very humbling feeling. Everywhere that we went to during our expedition we were welcomed very warmly. The Indian Army hosted us in all the occasions. the stays were very good that were organised completely y the army. The thing is we are not really habituated to so much luxury because we are always on the move and we are very grounded. I have had my share of accolades and for me these things are trivial and yet very humbling. I don’t expect to e treated specially to e honest with you but it is all in the perception of the people how they come across. Once the expedition was over the Chief Minister of Assam also took to his official Twitter handle and congratulated me and the entire team. That was also a very touching moment for all of us. All I say is Thank you to everyone who have loved us so much and has treated us like queens in every step of the way and I can’t thank you enough!
How did you keep your connect with the world below?
Well, honestly we didn’t have to. We know it for a fact that, once we embark on this journey, there is no looking back and barely any communication with our friends and family back home for the next 30 days. We were mentally prepared and that mental strength is what one needs at the very outset when one decides to become a mountaineer. However, there were certain things that we could not abrogate and they are the regular bills we have to pay back home.
So how did you make sure that the bills were paid in time given the fact that you were amidst the mountains with barely any connectivity and pathetic network.
Oh the network just gets worse. nothing can eat that when you are in such far flung areas. But guess what that is the beauty in it all. Having said that, we can never forget that we have our respective families who have to carry on with their chores and if in case the regular bills aren’t paid on time, things cane a little convoluted for them ack home. Therefore as long as we were in an okay network area in places like Dirang, Tawang, Sela Pass or Bumla in Arunachal, we made sure that we finished our digital payments. From utility bill paymеnts to documеnt managеmеnt,a little network at hand all of our utility bills were settled quickly and sеcurеly, that came in pretty handy We made sure all our bills are settled before we reached Mago because once you take off for Mago, you will begin to experience a complete lack of network!
Well, the team Fit@50 being led by Padmashri, Padma Bhushan Bachendri Pal have successfully summited Bailey’s trail, a glacier at the height of 16500 ft. and we at u would like to congratulate them at their completion! We wish them all the luck and success for many more such climbs to come.
