Young Indian girls are proving their mettle in every field they try venturing into. After Poorna made India proud by becoming the youngest girl to climb Everest, another 10-year-old Vizag mountaineer Kaamya Karthikeyan has become the youngest girl to climb one of Himalaya's highest peaks Mount Stok Kangri on August 7 this month.
Coincidentally, it was her 10th birthday on the same date. Two months ago, she made it to the Mt Everest base camp with the Indian Navy team and now she climbed Stok Kangri peak with her parents.
I enjoyed the terrain and the beauty of the tiny, brightly coloured flowers. I loved hopping across glacial streams and touching the horses that were ferrying expedition loads around. But the real challenge was the 12-hour summit climb and back, which was continuous from the base camp - Kaamya
An accomplished swimmer, cyclist, marathon runner, Bharatnatyam dancer and Carnatic classical singer, she is not someone who believed in resting on her laurels as Kaamya is now gearing up for her upcoming school exams from Leh.
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Kaamya's mountaineering odyssey
She is a navy officer's daughter who has scaled many high altitude hills. Interestingly, she was in her mother's womb when she was first exposed to mountaineering in Jammu.
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Recollecting her climb, the father tells TOI, "We reached the base camp at 5 pm after 19 hours of toil. Kaamya walked to the dining tent and picked up a Sudoku book and started solving a puzzle. Even when she reached the summit at 9.45 am after 12 hours of walking through the night, her reaction was, 'It has been a long day, yeah very long,' and during the climb kept asking if her speed is good enough."
"With less than a month left for Kaamya's attempt to Mt Stok Kangri, she did a 20-km cycle ride from home to the base of the Simhachalam Hills. This was followed by a 4-hour 400 metre trek to the top. She pedalled back home, another 20 km. So it was 40 km of cycling, four hours of the trek and eight hours in the open, non-stop," said her mother Laavanya praising her for the dogged determination she carries.
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Her parents, a co-climber to photograph the climb and two sherpas accompanied her to the trip.
Despite completing an arduous climb, Kaamya was brimming with energy. The scenic beauty of nature fascinated her. She talked about how much she admired the flowers, the glaciers and the horses she came across.
Future Plans
Kaamya is now eyeing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and Mt Elbrus. Besides climbing other lofty Himalayan peaks, she also aspires to scale Mt.Everest in the future for which she will be undergoing a mountaineering course to gain training to prepare better.
In January, she plans to undertake ski training to participate in the Winter National Games.
Young and audacious girls like Kaamya are debunking all myths related to women's strength. Their focus, determination and perseverance is worth appreciating.
Read Also: Poorna Malavath Scales Europe’s Highest Peak – Mount Elbrus
pic credits : Indiatimes.com
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