The Limitless Mountaineer
On May 11, Tashi Yangjom became the first Indian woman in 2021 to scale Mount Everest, the highest point on planet Earth. A wave of excitement had taken over the nation as soon as the news of her scaling Mount Everest went out. It took Tashi an entire year to convince her parents to let her choose mountaineering as a profession. They were scared of the consequences when they heard that she would have to brace glaciers, punishing temperatures, and intimidating altitudes to become a mountaineer. They later relented seeing her determination. Yangjom joined the National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (NIMAS) in the Dirang village of Arunachal Pradesh. There, she was trained to be an instructor. Yangjom trained for half a decade before setting out for the ambitious trek. The achievement has made Yangjom hungry for more and she is now aiming to scale Mt Makalu, the fifth highest mountain in the world. Participating in Seven Summits has also been added to her bucket list.
Power Move
Yangjom was originally supposed to scale Mount Everest in 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic ended up proving to be an impediment. Things were equally challenging in 2021 when she decided to give it a second try but it could not dissuade her this time. After half a decade of practice and preparation, she set out for her trek on April 4th. The 27-year-old began the ascent on May 9 and reached the summit in the wee hours of May 11th. It was 6 am by the time she finished her trek. Mount Everest is over 29,000 feet tall and the trek challenges the human limits. Anyone who has the physical endurance and the willpower to scale it successfully is no short of a superhuman.
Yangjom always dreamt of waving the Indian flag at the top of Mount Everest. Now that she has done it despite all the challenges, the mountaineer wants to send a message of hope and courage to the country’s youth. Things are only as hard or easy as we make them in our heads. There’s no limit to what we can achieve as long as we have faith in ourselves.
The POPxo Power Women List is an annual list that celebrates incredible Indian women from diverse domains who make power moves that have a real impact. With The POPxo Power Women List 2022, we celebrate 22 phenomenal women. To see the entire list, click here.
