First Indian ‘father-daughter’ – duo scale Mount Everest

Deeya Bajaj and Ajeet Bajajbecame the first Indian father-daughter duo to summit Mount Everest. Theysummitted world’s highest peak at dawn on May 16, 2018.

Ajeet Bajaj, a renownedadventurer-explorer, and Deeya, his fearless daughter-protégé and mountaineer,embarked on this incredible journey last month on April 16 when they reachedbase camp at 16,700 feet above sea level.

Their expedition offeredthem varied experiences from hard acclimatisation hikes to North Col at 23,000feet to easy Uno days at the base camp, from wi-fi connectivity at the basecamp to short satellite phone conversation with family while on acclimatisationhikes and the SOS (Scenic Overdose Syndrome) that followed them everywhere andthe adventurous duo thoroughly enjoyed their journey to ‘Chomolungma’ (theTibetan name for Mount Everest).

Taking a host ofhigh-altitude-related dangers, sub-zero temperatures and extremely windy daysin their stride, the duo went onto courageously achieve their goal ofsummitting Mount Everest.

As Ajeet caught his firstglimpse of Mount Everest on the expedition, he said, “We are looking at M
ount Everest – a Mother Goddess, one of the natural wonders of the world. Werealise how small and insignificant human beings are in the larger scheme ofthings. We can never conquer mountains or nature and have to learn to approachthe mountain with a huge amount of respect and humility. Mother Nature isSupreme.”

The father-daughter duohas trail-blazed adventurous expeditions in the past too. In 2012, they werethe first Indians to traverse Mt Elbrus (5642 m) from the North side to theSouth Side (via the summit).

Mt Elbrus (Russia) is thehighest mountain in Europe. In May 2011, Ajeet and Deeya skied from the west tothe east coast of Greenland, skiing 550 kms over 21 days.

The adventure duo are thefirst Indians to ski across the Greenland Ice Cap. Their feat was acknowledgedby the Limca Book of World Records.

Ajeet is the first Indianto ski to both the North Pole and the South Pole and for his achievements,Ajeet was conferred the Padma Shri by the President of India.

Deeya completed heradvanced course in mountaineering from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM),Uttarkashi and was conferred with the Best Trainee Award after her Basic Coursefrom NIM in 2012. Deeya is a graduate from Cornell University, an Ivy Leaguecollege in the US.

This new milestone is veryspecial for Deeya as she hopes that her journey and the encouragement shereceived from her father will be a beacon to the Girl-Child in India. Thisfather-daughter duo has also bec
ome an inspiration for millions of men and women who aspire to scale newheights. A&W

Source: Deccanchronicle