This 6-year-old girl became the youngest Indian to climb Mount Everest Base Camp

The mother-daughter duo completed the trek in harsh temperatures ranging between -3 to -17 degrees, reports Times Now. To avoid the bitter cold, the girl was dressed in 7-8 clothes. Arshika said, “I felt happy. It was very cold there. We saw yaks and mules.” times now,

The little one also expressed his desire to climb mount everest, “I want to climb Everest,” she told the daily. Her mother Dimple also agreed and talked about training her daughter professionally. Dimple told the daily.

Sharing her experience, the girl’s mother Dimple said that it was an impromptu plan and experts asked them to take their daughter at their own risk as usually children above 12 years of age climb to the base camp. However, he added that his daughter had an active lifestyle and the two often traveled to the fort in Pune.

Dimple Laddha said, “I was told to take the child at my own risk. Normally, my daughter is an active child. Alternately on Saturdays and Sundays, we go fort climbing around Pune. Have marched on Sinhagad twice.

Meanwhile, Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring climbing season, when temperatures are warm and winds are generally calm.

An AFP report said a record number of about 1,000 climbers, including Nepali guides who form the backbone of the industry, are expected to attempt the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) ascent in the coming weeks.

Everest, known as Sagarmatha in Nepali and Chomolungma in Tibetan, has captured the imagination of climbers ever since it was recognized as the world’s highest mountain above sea level. The first expedition was launched by the British in 1921, but it would take 32 years and many more expeditions before the Nepalese Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary finally reached its summit. Seventy years of commercialization have drawn hordes of climbers to the mountain’s slopes, and more than 6,000 have reached its summit. Most of them have been in the last two decades.

The cost of climbing Mount Everest ranges from $45,000 to $200,000 depending on the services included and the level of luxury. This includes an $11,000 permit for foreign climbers, as well as travel, insurance, kit and most importantly a guide. Everest has always been dangerous, according to the Himalayan database, with more than 300 people killed since the climb began.

Experts have said that a major risk factor lying is also the sheer number of climbers and some of them are less prepared thrill-seekers. In 2019, massive traffic jams on Everest forced teams to wait for hours in freezing temperatures, reducing oxygen levels that can lead to illness and exhaustion. At least four of the 11 deaths that year were blamed on overcrowding.

This year, Nepal has already issued 466 permits to foreign climbers, and since most will need a guide, more than 900 will attempt the climb this season, which runs until early June.

This year, Chinese nationals have received the highest number of permits at 96, and American climbers have received the second highest number of permits with 87, while climbers from India have received 40, said a Reuters report. The second climbing season runs from September to November but is not as popular.

(with inputs from agencies)