Though I'm not perched atop any [insert geological feature here] that provides a complete survey of the Everest basecamp, I get around to some interesting discoveries, right from my seat in Delhi. India is supposed to make news with the kind of numbers we have up there this season. A brash Colonel-sahib - one with such proximity to the climbing activity scene in this country that revealing his name in this context would ensure a scandal - quipped a few weeks back "Baraat hai apne gharwalon ki ab toh wahan par". But that our media stays away from what could potentially be a bouquet of accounts of daring, survival, adventure, and records - endless hours of inspiration (note: entertainment) - is shameful, and so I search more, and highlight whatever little digging I do.
First are the Malik sisters of Dehradun, Nungshi and Tashi, both 20-year-olds. If they do it, they become the first twins to have scaled the Everest. It hasn't been too long that they got into mountaineering-as-a-sport, starting only after they were out of school, but the pace of ambitions is fast, and so here they are two years later, scaling the Everest. Seeing that they are under the care and leadership of the celebrity climber Mingma Sherpa up there, I think they will. When it comes to mountaineering feats, the memory etched in Dehradun's conscience is of the Bahuguna brothers, both of whom lost their lives attempting the Everest, 14 years separated in time (in 1971 and 1985, respectively). If they summit successfully, the Malik Sisters could become the new memory. And yes, they'll make for awesome photos, too.
Then there's Samina Khayal Baig and Mirza Baig, a brother-sister duo from Pakistan. If they do it, Samina becomes the first Pakistan girl to summit the Everest. These siblings originally come from Shimshal Valley (deep in the extreme Karakoram range in Upper Hunza), with relatively poor background. Mirza - the elder brother, who is a professional mountain guide, and has 12 years of background of mountaineering - could be credited with the stubbornness with which they've taken up this endeavor. Samina is a 21-year-old student of Arts, and the only Pakistani female to adopt mountaineering as a profession. She has been climbing regularly since 2010. She, coincidentally, is doing this as a part of the same group (Seven Summits) as the Malik sisters are. I guess Seven Summits is very supportive of such ambitions.
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EQmaurl2V0 [Geo TV documentary on Samina's ascent of the "Chaashkin Sar", which was renamed to "Samina Peak" after her successful ascent]
First are the Malik sisters of Dehradun, Nungshi and Tashi, both 20-year-olds. If they do it, they become the first twins to have scaled the Everest. It hasn't been too long that they got into mountaineering-as-a-sport, starting only after they were out of school, but the pace of ambitions is fast, and so here they are two years later, scaling the Everest. Seeing that they are under the care and leadership of the celebrity climber Mingma Sherpa up there, I think they will. When it comes to mountaineering feats, the memory etched in Dehradun's conscience is of the Bahuguna brothers, both of whom lost their lives attempting the Everest, 14 years separated in time (in 1971 and 1985, respectively). If they summit successfully, the Malik Sisters could become the new memory. And yes, they'll make for awesome photos, too.
Then there's Samina Khayal Baig and Mirza Baig, a brother-sister duo from Pakistan. If they do it, Samina becomes the first Pakistan girl to summit the Everest. These siblings originally come from Shimshal Valley (deep in the extreme Karakoram range in Upper Hunza), with relatively poor background. Mirza - the elder brother, who is a professional mountain guide, and has 12 years of background of mountaineering - could be credited with the stubbornness with which they've taken up this endeavor. Samina is a 21-year-old student of Arts, and the only Pakistani female to adopt mountaineering as a profession. She has been climbing regularly since 2010. She, coincidentally, is doing this as a part of the same group (Seven Summits) as the Malik sisters are. I guess Seven Summits is very supportive of such ambitions.
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EQmaurl2V0 [Geo TV documentary on Samina's ascent of the "Chaashkin Sar", which was renamed to "Samina Peak" after her successful ascent]
Widget by Css Reflex | TutZone
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment