Premlata Agarwal
| Premlata Agarwal | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Premlata Garg 1963 (age 52–53) Jharkhand |
| Residence | Jugsalai, Jamshedpur |
| Occupation | mountain climber |
| Known for | Summiting Mount Everest (2011)The first Indian woman mountaineer to complete the seven summits and the oldest Indian women mountaineer to summit Mount Everest at an age of 48 years |
Premlata Agarwal (born 1963) is an Indian mountain climber, who on May 20, 2011, became the oldest Indian woman to have scaled the world's tallest peak, Mount Everest (29,029 ft.), at the age of 48 years. She also became the first person from Jharkhand state to go on an expedition to Mount Everest.[1][2] Prior to this, she took part in an Island Peak Expedition in Nepal (20,600 ft) in 2004; the Karakoram Pass (18,300 ft) and Mt. Saltoro Kangri (20,150 ft) in 2006. She participated in the First Indian Women’s Thar Desert Expedition in 2007; a 40-day camel safari from Bhuj in Gujarat to the Wagah Border (Indo-Pak border) in Punjab. Her feats have earned her a listing in the Limca Book of Records.[1][3][4] She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2013.[5] She also became the first Indian woman to scale the Seven Summits after climbing the McKinley Peak in May 2013.[6]
Career
She started mountaineering at the age of 37, after taking part in a hill climbing competition in Jamshedpur. Soon she discovered her passion for climbing. Subsequently she was trained and mentored by Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to summit Mount Everest in 1984.[7][8]
Mount Everest climb 2011
She was part of a 22-member eco-Everest expedition team, the Indian contingent also included Sunita Singh, Narendar Singh, Pawan Grewal, Sushma and Vikas Kaushik, besides climbers Rodrigo Raineri of Brazil and David Liano of Mexico. She spent over a month climbing around Everest Base Camps to acclimatise, and also did a climbing exercise at 20,300-feet-high Island Peak in the Himalayas.[4] She started the main climb on May 6 when climbed from the Everest base camp at 18,000 feet to Camp 2 at 22,000 feet. However, then on she used supplemental oxygen, and reached Camp 3 at 23,000 feet and Camp 4 at 26,000 feet. The multinational trekking team led by Dawa Steven Sherpa took an overnight trek to climb the summit. They started at 11pm from South Col (Camp 4 at 26,000 ft) route from Nepal side and touched the summit at 9.35am on May 20, 2011, which is height of the 29,029 ft.[1] An hour before reaching the summit she lost one of gloves, and was deciding to turn back as it was not possible to climb such height without a glove, just then she saw a pair of gloves lying on the snow, left by someone.[8]
Personal life
She is a native of Jharkhand, her father Ramawtar Garg is a businessman. Presently she is a housewife and lives in Jugsalai town, of Jamshedpur in East Singhbhum district in the state.[2] She is married to Vimal Agarwal, a senior journalist. The couple have two daughters, one of whom is married.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Thaker, Jayesh (May 21, 2011). "On the top of the world - Steel city mom oldest Indian woman to scale Everest". Calcutta, India: The Telegraph (Kolkata).
- 1 2 3 "Premlata Agarwal becomes oldest Indian woman to scale Mt Everest". DNA (newspaper). May 20, 2011.
- ↑ "45-year-old housewife to climb Mount Everest". Indian Express. Mar 7, 2011.
- 1 2 "Mother of two becomes oldest Indian woman to climb Mount Everest". NDTV. May 20, 2011.
- ↑ "Padma Awards". pib. January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
- ↑ Mountaineer Premlata scales seven summits
- ↑ Shekhar, Shashank; Thaker, Jayesh (June 3, 2011). "‘Sherpas were sending me back’". Calcutta, India: The Telegraph.
- 1 2 "Premlata oldest Indian woman to scale Everest". IBN Live. Jun 1, 2011.
External links
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