Meet Priyanka Mohite, First Indian Woman To Scale Five Peaks Above 8,000m

Priyanka Mohite from Satara, western Maharashtra in India has become the first Indian woman to have scaled five peaks, all about 8,000 metres. She achieved this feat by climbing her latest peak, Kanchanjunga on May 5. The 30-year-old is a recipient of the Tenzing Norgay Adventure Award 2020.

Her brother Akash Mohite informed PTI that at 4:52 PM Priyanka climbed the third highest mountain Kanchanjunga, which is 8,586 metres high. In the past, she has scaled the 10th highest mountain peak Mt Annapurna, which is 8,091 metres. She achieved the feat in April 2021. Post which she became the first Indian woman climber to have achieved success.

Not just these peaks, she has also climbed the world's highest peak Mount Everest, which is 8,849 metres in 2013, then Mount Lhotse which is 8, 485 metres in 2018, and Mount Kilimanjaro which is 5,895 metres in 2016.

Suggested Reading: Priyanka Mohite: The Girl Who Scaled The World’s Fifth Highest Mountain

More on Priyanka Mohite

In 2019, she climbed the fifth highest peak Mt Makalu in the Mahalangur Himalayas, which is 19 kilometres southeast of Mt Everest. In an interview with SheThePeople, Mohite talked about the inspiration behind her mountaineering stints. She said, "I used to go with cousins and my uncle for trekking. Coming from Satara, which is the city of hills, since childhood I had started exploring the hills in my area and when I was in 7th class I started trekking with a professional group."

She talked about how she continued her interest in rock climbing and after the class 12 examination, she took a course in mountaineering in 2010 from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. She then finished her advanced mountaineering course in 2012.

Her first climb was in 2012. She climbed Mt Bandarpoonch, which has a height of 6200 metres. While talking about scaling Mt Everest, she thanked her parents, who she said supported her. She climbed the mountain under the leadership of Col Neeraj Rana. She also credited Anand Shinde and Hrishikesh Yadav for guiding her and gave special mention to Sherpa Temba Bhote. She was coached by Ramchandra Shreshta.

"Every mountain teaches me a lot. The basic things I've learnt are discipline, time management, risk management, team spirit, dedication, being humble, so many things which I apply in my day-to-day life too," she said.

Read the full interview here.