A dozen women led by Bachendri Pal on two-month trans-Himalayan expedition

KOLKATA: Bachendri Pal, the first woman to climb Mount Everest, who is leading a team of 12 women mountaineers on a trans-Himalayan expedition, is about to complete 60 days in the near-5,000km trek. Five of the climbers are more than 64 years old.
The team will attempt to cross Lamkhaga pass, a tough and tricky terrain. During the five-month journey from Arunachal to Ladakh, the team will cover 37 mountain passes.
“They are in Nepal now and likely to trek back to the Indian side by the second week of June. I am in touch with Chetna Sahoo. They are somewhere near the Mount Annapurna trail,” said Debraj Dutta, fellow mountaineer who summited Everest in 2016.
The team of 12 women mountaineers started their journey from Pangasu palace in Arunachal on March 12 after they went through a week-long pre-expedition training at Uttarkashi. The team, comprising three Everest summiteers, includes members from every walks of life — retired professionals to homemakers.
After moving through Pangsau Pass in Arunachal, the team entered Assam. They touched upon West Bengal and Sikkim and then moved into Nepal to reach Dhaulagiri range. The entire trip includes Salpa Pass, Lamajura Pass and Thorang la near Annapurna. In Uttarakhand, they will reach Kumaon and head towards Lamkhaga (17,320 ft). The pass starts from Chitkul in Himachal Pradesh and moves near the India-Tibet border.
“The team is learning to handle constant changes, toughening through different varied routes, handling uncertainties, coping physically and emotionally. A great expedition like this in Nature’s classroom involves constant learning imbibing changes,” Pal wrote on her Facebook page. The expedition will end at Tiger Hills in the Drass region of Kargil district.