Her life defines expedition. At 19, Krushnaa Patil is the youngest Indian to scale the Everest (2009), and has already been bestowed with numerous accolades including the Rajiv Gandhi Woman Achiever Award (2009), Indira Gandhi Award (2009) and Young Achiever Award (2009). The only woman from India planning to climb the highest peaks in every continent – only three to go – Krushnaa describes her precocious ascent to Spriha Srivastava
What drew you to mountaineering?
It’s just a year or two back that I consciously decided to pursue mountaineering. My mother had initiated me into adventure sports when I was in third standard. I used to go for treks, rock climbing, river crossing. My family would go to the Himalayas in the summers. So I’m sort of addicted to the mountains. I did my first adventure course in Uttarkashi when I was 15. I managed this along with my school during the winter break in 12th standard. Later in 2007, I did my basic mountaineering course from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. Then in 2008, I went for advance course and excelled in it.
What is mountaineering training like?
We start with basic things like running for about 6 kms every morning at 5 am. We are not allowed to wear caps or sweaters, no hands in pockets, no gloves… We have to train ourselves to carry 15 kgs on our back. There’s rock craft which includes rock climbing, defending on rocks, camping on rocks, how to fix ropes on rocks. Then there’s ice craft which includes everything to do with ice, how to climb on a vertical ice wall, how to set up camps in snow etc. We are also trained on what to do in an avalanche. The last level is when we go to a height of 16,000 ft. They are very strict – it’s almost like a military training.
What are the basic strengths or skills required to pursue a course in mountaineering?
I would say physical fitness is very important. You know, about 90 girls join the course, 75 do the whole course and only about 15 get an A grade. It’s a very tough course; apart from physical fitness, one has to be mentally inclined and prepared to do this.
How much would you attribute to mental strength for achieving the feat that you have?
70 per cent. Physical strength can always be developed, but mental strength doesn’t come easy. For example, if you’re phobic or nervous about something, there’s little you can do about it. Physical strengths like building stamina can however be worked on.
How did your parents react to your decision of pursuing mountaineering and your 7-Summit quest?
They were very supportive. In fact, during my first expedition, my team leader called up my mother to tell her that nobody’s return is guaranteed. She told my mom of incidents where people lost lives and wanted to know if she was okay with that. My mother just said yes. She didn’t want to stop me from doing something that I really wanted to. My dad was a little scared and apprehensive but no one really stopped me.
What was the scariest incident that you encountered during an expedition?
On the Everest we lost one of our sherpas in an avalanche while coming down. That was one of the toughest moments that I faced. To actually be in a situation where you lose someone forever, that’s really tough to battle.
Is scaling Mt Everest the hardest of all? Which has been your toughest climb?
There are peaks that are tougher than the Everest. The climb of Aconcagua in South America and Vinson Massif in Antarctica were more difficult. Actually, it depends on the weather too. When I climbed the Everest, the weather was brilliant. It was easy for me. But someone who has faced bad weather would say that the Everest is the toughest. It also depends on how fit one is. When I scaled the Everest I was extremely fit, so it wasn’t very difficult as others say it is. The degree of difficulty varies from person to person.
You are a member of Women Adventure Network of India. What is that all about?
It is an association of senior women mountaineers of India. The basic motto is to empower women through adventure. We’ve planned a cycling expedition (in November), called ‘Go Green Girl’, from Kolkata to Kanyakumari. We want to instill confidence in women through these initiatives and get them to experience activities that are wrongly believed to be only for men.
How do you think adventure sports can be made popular in India? Can the government help?
The government is already doing quite a lot. We have very good courses in mountaineering in India. Then, they can obviously help with more expeditions.
In India, do you see enough youngsters participating in adventure sports?
I definitely think adventure sports are getting popular, especially with corporate offices encouraging team building and training programmes that include a lot of adventure sports. I also think parents need to encourage children to go ahead and participate in adventure sports, and maybe even make a career in it.
What drew you to mountaineering?
It’s just a year or two back that I consciously decided to pursue mountaineering. My mother had initiated me into adventure sports when I was in third standard. I used to go for treks, rock climbing, river crossing. My family would go to the Himalayas in the summers. So I’m sort of addicted to the mountains. I did my first adventure course in Uttarkashi when I was 15. I managed this along with my school during the winter break in 12th standard. Later in 2007, I did my basic mountaineering course from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. Then in 2008, I went for advance course and excelled in it.
What is mountaineering training like?
We start with basic things like running for about 6 kms every morning at 5 am. We are not allowed to wear caps or sweaters, no hands in pockets, no gloves… We have to train ourselves to carry 15 kgs on our back. There’s rock craft which includes rock climbing, defending on rocks, camping on rocks, how to fix ropes on rocks. Then there’s ice craft which includes everything to do with ice, how to climb on a vertical ice wall, how to set up camps in snow etc. We are also trained on what to do in an avalanche. The last level is when we go to a height of 16,000 ft. They are very strict – it’s almost like a military training.
What are the basic strengths or skills required to pursue a course in mountaineering?
I would say physical fitness is very important. You know, about 90 girls join the course, 75 do the whole course and only about 15 get an A grade. It’s a very tough course; apart from physical fitness, one has to be mentally inclined and prepared to do this.
How much would you attribute to mental strength for achieving the feat that you have?
70 per cent. Physical strength can always be developed, but mental strength doesn’t come easy. For example, if you’re phobic or nervous about something, there’s little you can do about it. Physical strengths like building stamina can however be worked on.
How did your parents react to your decision of pursuing mountaineering and your 7-Summit quest?
They were very supportive. In fact, during my first expedition, my team leader called up my mother to tell her that nobody’s return is guaranteed. She told my mom of incidents where people lost lives and wanted to know if she was okay with that. My mother just said yes. She didn’t want to stop me from doing something that I really wanted to. My dad was a little scared and apprehensive but no one really stopped me.
What was the scariest incident that you encountered during an expedition?
On the Everest we lost one of our sherpas in an avalanche while coming down. That was one of the toughest moments that I faced. To actually be in a situation where you lose someone forever, that’s really tough to battle.
Is scaling Mt Everest the hardest of all? Which has been your toughest climb?
There are peaks that are tougher than the Everest. The climb of Aconcagua in South America and Vinson Massif in Antarctica were more difficult. Actually, it depends on the weather too. When I climbed the Everest, the weather was brilliant. It was easy for me. But someone who has faced bad weather would say that the Everest is the toughest. It also depends on how fit one is. When I scaled the Everest I was extremely fit, so it wasn’t very difficult as others say it is. The degree of difficulty varies from person to person.
You are a member of Women Adventure Network of India. What is that all about?
It is an association of senior women mountaineers of India. The basic motto is to empower women through adventure. We’ve planned a cycling expedition (in November), called ‘Go Green Girl’, from Kolkata to Kanyakumari. We want to instill confidence in women through these initiatives and get them to experience activities that are wrongly believed to be only for men.
How do you think adventure sports can be made popular in India? Can the government help?
The government is already doing quite a lot. We have very good courses in mountaineering in India. Then, they can obviously help with more expeditions.
In India, do you see enough youngsters participating in adventure sports?
I definitely think adventure sports are getting popular, especially with corporate offices encouraging team building and training programmes that include a lot of adventure sports. I also think parents need to encourage children to go ahead and participate in adventure sports, and maybe even make a career in it.
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