Dhanya Sanal treks to Agasthya peak, creates another first

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dhanya Sanal, an Indian Information Service officer, who made history on Tuesday by becoming the first woman to scale the Agasthyarkoodam peak, has warned aspiring women trekkers to prepare for 'an extremely tough terrain that demands extra physical fitness' .

"It's almost undoable for women aged above 45 years. And even if you are younger, do not undertake this journey if you don't have that extra physical fitness," she said while speaking from the base camp at Athirumala. The forest department had opened registration for women climbers to the 1868-metre-tall peak after the HC judgment on November 30 allowing women to be part of the annual trekking programme.

Dhanya happened to be the lone woman in the batch of 100 trekkers on the first day of the 47-day event which starts with Makaravilakku festival in Sabarimala temple. "It's not just the 6km climb to the peak. The 13.5km trek to the basecamp will also put to test your physical abilities," Dhanya said.

"During the climb to the peak, I had to hang on to ropes like a monkey to get past the rocky terrain in four locations. There are slopes at 60-degree inclination," she said. However, Dhanya said she was excited to have made the achievement. Out of the 4,700 trekkers who registered for trekking inside the biosphere reserve, 100 are women. Three other women will proceed to Athirumala with another batch of trekkers on Thursday.