Arunachal’s Anshu Jamsenpa is first woman to scale Mt Everest twice in 5 days

india

Updated: May 22, 2017 07:28 IST

Arunachal Pradesh mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa has become the world’s first woman to scale Mt Everest twice in five days.

Her ascent of the world’s tallest peak in the Himalayas at 7.45 am on Sunday was her fifth overall, and the second after May 16.

The 32-year-old mother of two had started her fifth ascent on May 19, climbing almost non-stop from Everest Base Camp at 17,500ft till 10 pm.

Dawa Sherpa Lama of Himalayan Adventures Private Limited that conducted Jamsenpa’s expedition said she began climbing Saturday morning and stopped briefly before the final push early Sunday morning.

Jamsenpa’s husband and president of All Arunachal Pradesh Mountaineering and Adventure Sports Association, Tsering Wange, said, “God has answered the prayers of her admirers in Arunachal Pradesh and elsewhere in India and beyond.”

The couple is based in Bomdila, the headquarters of West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.

This was not Jamsenpa’s first ‘double ascent’ of Mt Everest. On her first attempt in 2011, she had conquered the 29,029 ft peak twice in 10 days between May 12 and 21. Her third successful attempt was on May 18 two years later.

Prior to starting her second ascent, Jamsenpa said via her Guwahati-based public relations manager: “My only aim now is to unfurl the national flag once again atop Mt Everest and pay homage to Lord Buddha. I seek blessings and support from my fellow countrymen.”

Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu, in Gangtok for a strategic meeting of Himalayan states bordering China, congratulated Anshu for a “fantastic feat” and doing India proud.