‘We were horrified crossing the body of strongest mountaineer from Bulgaria’

Surat: Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, despite life threatening conditions, does not deter people anymore, especially mountaineers from climbing it. Because it's there, now many people just want to climb it, making it crowded during stable weather of four-five days of different months called ‘the window’. This is the time when approximately 350 mountaineers queue up to climb Mount Everest, which was first conquered in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
Aditi Vaidya, 25, and Anuja Vaidya, 21, residents of the city, reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 22. They became the first sister-duo from Gujarat to climb Mount Everest. “We crossed body of a man who had died a couple of days ago due to lack of oxygen. He was one of the strongest climbers from Bulgaria. It was a horrific sight and for once we thought, would we able to return safely?” Aditi said.
Not only the altitude, but waiting period of several hours to go to the peak with each passing minute being precious with limited oxygen supply can crush the determination of even the strongest of persons. “But we have showed that women are equally stronger and can overcome challenges,” Anuja said.
The biggest challenge that Vaidya sisters faced was limited supply of oxygen. “We could not start climbing the peak from Souch Col (camp 4) due to extreme weather conditions and that left is with limited oxygen. After camp 3 we were on oxygen for 24 hours and there every second counts,” they said.
As they had started early on May 21 evening, they could reach the peak without facing rush. However, they had to wait for over an hour due to long queue of climbers while returning. “There were around 250 people near Hillary Step waiting for their turn to reach the peak while we were awaiting ours to climb down. A burst of impatience can prove costly because there is space for only one person to walk,” they informed.
“Many climbers were in panic and a man behind us kept on shouting to let him go ahead. He was complaining of limited oxygen with him and wanted climbers to give him way to reach the peak fast. He added to the anxiety of all the climbers there,” the sisters said.
Questioned what kept them going, they said, “The fact that we were together was a motivating factor.” Vaidya sisters now want to go on an expedition to Mount Elbrus in Russia and later Antarctica.