A 27-year–old mountaineer of Himachal Pradesh, Baljeet Kaur has become the only Indian mountaineer to climb four peaks above 8,000 metres in less than a month when she climbed Mt Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest summit at 8,516 metres. Pasang Sherpa, Director of Peak Promotion Pvt Ltd, verified the report.
She and her guide Mingma Sherpa has successfully climbed the world’s fourth-highest mountain. In addition to this, it was Kaur’s fourth successful ascent this spring season. Baljeet climbed Mt Lhotse barely a day after conquering Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak at 8,848.86 metres.
Baljit’s mother, Santi Devi
Baljeet’s mother, Shanti Devi, became ecstatic when the news spread. Shanti Devi emotionally said, “Meri beti ne jo kar dikhaya hai, woh toh bahut bada kam hain usne humara nam pure desh main roshan kr dia(What my daughter has accomplished is really significant for our family. She made us proud and popular in the entire country)”.
By climbing Lhotse, Kaur made a tie with Priyanka Mohite, another mountaineer from Maharashtra, for the record of climbing five eight-thousanders.
Baljeet belongs to a humble background
Kaur belongs to a middle-class family, her mother Shanti Devi is a housewife whereas her father Amrik Singh works as a bus driver for the Himachal Road Transport Corporation.
Baljeet’s First Experience
Baljeet had her first taste of mountaineering during a National Cadet Corps (NCC) camp. At the age of 20, she was chosen for an NCC excursion to Mt Deo Tibba, followed by a team of ten NCC mountaineers for an adventure to the 7,120-meter-high Mt Trishul.
In 2015, the team reached a height of 6,350m when the climb was cut short due to severe weather. A year later, Baljeet was part of another NCC mission to Mt Everest, this time reaching 8,548 metres before the climb was called off.
Baljeet, together with Gunbala Sharma of Rajasthan, ascended the 7,161-meter high Mt Pumori on the Nepal-Tibet border last year, becoming one of the first Indian women mountaineers to do so. She went on to become the first Indian woman to successfully climb Mt Dhaulagiri, which stands at 8,167 metres. She’ll return to Kathmandu later this week before departing for India. Shanti Devi, her mother, has already begun planning for her daughter’s return home. “Villagers would sometimes tell us that Baljeet’s face is tainted by sunburn, but climbing is her first love.”