HUBBALLI: Mountaineer from Hubballi, Nandita Nagangoudar has achieved yet another milestone. This time, she has climbed the highest peak of Europe — Mount Elbrus. It is located in Russia and the height of the mountain is 5,651m (18,600ft). Nandita along with four others, including her guide Andre, achieved the feat. Nandita was the only Indian in the team and the rest were from other parts of Europe.
Mount Elbrus is a challenging mountain due to its cold weather and blunt curves. “Although routes were decided and set, one still needs to be careful about the slippery areas. It took eight days to complete the expedition,” Nandita told Express.
She said they started their climb from Mineralyne Vody, moved to Treskol, a small hilly village, from where the climb began. “The final push to the summit was quite a challenge as it was a long climb but it’s amazing to unfurl Indian tri-colour at highest peaks of the world,” she said.
Nandita follows the theme of ‘Strengthening ties between India and other nations through this extreme adventure sports’. She has also represented ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) in mountaineering expeditions.
“I have a dream of climbing the tallest mountains of all the seven continents. I am hopeful of getting the government’s help,” she added. Nandita has climbed Mt Everest, Mt Carstensz Pyramid (Oceania Australia) and Mt Kilimanjaro (Africa).