I went on my first hike before I could walk- on my father’s back. Adventure and the outdoors have always been a massive part of my life, though I grew up in a big city – every holiday, weekend getaway in our family would involve something to do with the outdoors. My younger sister and I were sent to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering during the summer before Grade 8. This was where I discovered that when I was in the mountains, walking for hours every day with all I needed in a backpack, I was happiest. I jumped at the opportunity to go on an expedition from then on. I was lucky, of course, to have someone in my life who enjoyed being in the outdoors as much as I did. My father was constantly planning expeditions, and I was too happy to accompany him.

First Significant Expedition In Greenland

The first significant expedition we did was a 14-day sea kayaking expedition along the coast of Greenland. Three years later, we returned to Greenland, this time on a three-week-long expedition to cross country ski across the icecap. When I graduated from high school, my graduation gift was a mountaineering expedition to Mt. Elbrus in Russia. When I wasn’t on expeditions, I would spend hours reading about all the famous mountaineers and explorers who had all achieved the most fantastic feats. Most of the literature would always mention the beautiful Mt. Everest, and getting up to 8848 meters was always a dream.

With both my father and I dreaming about an expedition to the great Sagarmatha, it was only a matter of time before we decided to start thinking about climbing the mountain seriously. We had always spoken about it, I couldn’t even tell you the exact moment when it suddenly became real, but suddenly I found myself training for one of the most extreme expeditions on the face of this planet. We trained hard for one year solely with Mount Everest in our minds. We did four practice expeditions, bought our gear and were on the most intense fitness schedule possible. But no amount of preparation, physical or mental, can ever prepare you for extreme temperatures, wind and terrain that nature throws at you beyond 8000 meters.

No Control After A Point

The one thing that my father has reinforced through all our expeditions, big or small, is that you can never take nature for granted. When we finally reached base camp and looked up at the mountain before us, I felt small and insignificant. People often talk about conquering mountains, but looking up at Sagarmatha, I realized that there is no such thing. Those who make it up to have a certain level of skill and expertise but more than anything, you need to be highly fortunate- and hope that the mountain goddess will send favourable conditions your way. There is absolutely nothing in our control once we get beyond a certain point.

Though we had our fair share of close shaves on the mountain, the scariest moment was when dad’s oxygen mask stopped working an hour below the summit. He was unable to carry on, so he urged me to keep going at – 50 degrees Celsius; it was bitterly cold, and I reluctantly kept going slowly. Though everyone is unrecognizable in the bulky down suits oxygen mask, dad and I had matching orange helmets. As I climbed ahead, I kept turning back, hoping to see his helmet. Thankfully there was a spare oxygen mask with our lead Sherpa, and about 10 minutes after I had left dad, I caught a glimpse of him moving towards me.

Unfurling The Flag Was The Proudest Moment

When I reached the summit, it was still pretty dark, and I sat right below and looked at the line of incoming climbers hoping to see dad. The wind had died down, and as I waited, the sun slowly began to rise, and I suddenly saw dad making his way towards the top. It was only when he reached it that it hit me that we were at the top. After a lifetime of dreaming about this moment we had reached- it was overwhelming. Unfurling the Indian national flag at the summit was a proud moment for us.

All the feelings of excitement were quickly replaced with apprehension as we quickly remembered we were only halfway through the journey – “going up is optional, coming down is mandatory.” Thankfully our trip down was relatively uneventful, and we made it back to Camp 1 at 4:30 pm. After 20 hours of climbing on the mountain, we had finally successfully made it back to (relative) safety. We were highly exhausted but satisfied.

I feel very grateful to have grown up in a family where I have always been supported and encouraged to follow my dreams. Unfortunately, I’ve also been very aware that this isn’t the case with many families with their daughters. Climbing to the top of the world was essential to us as a father-daughter team because we wanted to show families all over India – that is, women can achieve a lot, but we can achieve a whole lot more if our families support us, lift us. 

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