BENGALURU: It was winter of January 2018 when mountaineer Gayatri Mohanty was climbing the Chadar trek (3,500 m) in Ladakh, navigating extreme weather conditions of -30 degree Celsius. And all this without appropriate trekking gear.
Although she fractured her wrist, she still managed to complete the trek. This was the trigger for Mohanty, who is also a model, to pursue mountaineering as a passion. But this time, she knew the intensive ground work that it would require.
Just having returned from Russia, after an expedition to Mount Elbrus, Mohanty says,“Strange as it may sound, my interest in hiking and mountaineering soared after the injury during the Chadar trek. From then on, I started climbing once or twice a year. So far, I have climbed seven mountains, including Triund (Himachal Pradesh), Markha Valley (Ladakh), Kedarkantha (Uttarakhand), Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar, Nepal, Chadar trek and Mt Elbrus,Russia,” says Mohanty, who quit her banking job in 2017.
The preparations for Mt
Elbrus was one-of-its-kind with the pandemic casting its shadow. However, Mohanty managed to make use of the lockdown and worked-out at home ahead of climbing the 5,642-mt peak. “I was working out regularly at home, doing household chores and looking after family. I believe that climbing has a lot to do with the mind. I gathered all my thoughts to keep my spirits up ahead of the mission. The fresh snow was very challenging in Russia but I managed to finish the expedition in 10 hours, between 1 am and 10 am,” says Mohanty.
Mohanty, the winner of Mrs India Global Universe and first runner-up of Mrs Karnataka, is now gearing up for an expedition of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa (5,895 mt) as part of the seven summits, hosted by India-based mountaineering company Boots & Crampons. She believes that women should take up hiking and mountaineering. “My goal is to cheer more women to take up such sports,” says Mohanty.
Sneak-‘Peak’
No. of days spent and distance hiked on each mountain
2017: Triund,Himachal Pradesh - 1 night 2 days (18km)
2017: Chadar trek, Ladakh - 8 nights 9 days (70km)
2019: Markha Valley, Ladakh - 5 nights 6 days (81 km)
2020: Kedarkanta, Uttarakhand- 5 nights 6 days (40 km)
2021: Everest Base Camp (including Kalapattar & NangkarTshang peak)-12 days ( 146 km)
2021: Mount Elbrus, Russia- 9 days (30 km)