Sheetal Raj Is The Youngest Girl From Uttarakhand To Scale Mt Everest

Sheetal Raj from Uttarakhand has become the youngest girl from the state to climb Mount Everest.   The 22 year old, who hails from the Salmoda village in Pithoragarh district has managed to create history.

Sheetal was a part of an expedition called ‘Climbing Beyond the Summit: Everest Expedition 2019.’ This expedition was sponsored by several institutions. Scaling the highest peak in the world was the second grand achievement for Sheetal. The first achievement was scaling Mount Kanchenjunga, which is currently the third highest peak in the world.

Once reaching the base camp of Mount Everest on Thursday morning Sheetal Raj said:

“I am humbled and overwhelmed that I was able to reach the peak of Mount Everest. I could not have done it without the support of my parents and teachers.”

Among others, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat, congratulated Sheetal Raj. In a message he wrote:

“This is a proud moment. A daughter of Uttarakhand has scaled both Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga at a very young age.”

Sheetal Raj is a graduate in Sociology and her interests include mountaineering. When speaking to TOI, she had said that her interest in mountaineering was sparked when she was only in the 9th grade. This was when she was introduced to National Cadet Cops (NCC).

Her father is a taxi driver, who earns around Rs 6000 per month. Both her parents were emotional when they spoke to TOI about her achievement.

Her mother Sapna Devi said, “My child was always good in everything she did. I am so proud that she was able to achieve what she dreamt of.” While her father, Umashankar Raj had this to say, “For me, apart from my daughter’s personal achievement, this is a symbol of woman empowerment. I hope the state government takes notice and helps Sheetal in her endeavours.” After saying all this, her father later added that he hopes that “other girls will get inspired and try to achieve more and more in their life.”

Her trainer, Yogesh Garbyal was full of praise and good words for Sheetal, he said, “She has always been a hard-working girl and determined to achieve what she desired. While training, she used to pushed herself beyond her capabilities and strived to achieve her best.”

Sheetal Raj is an inspiration, a face for all Indian girls, who want to show that they can and are no less than anyone else. And that no circumstances can hold them back. She will always be remembered as the youngest girl from Uttarakhand to have scaled the highest peak in the world.

Read also - 5 Indian Women Who Conquered Mountains In 2017

Kavya Shah is an intern at SheThePeople.Tv