It was an adventure that turned into a proper cliffhanger, at least for one of the participants. After scaling 19,000 ft, Sangeeta Bahl thought it prudent to turn back for some reason, only to injure her knee in the process. For the gritty mountaineer, it was time to fight another day, but not before she egged on her husband Ankur Bahl to unfurl the Tricolour on the summit. India’s first mountaineering couple had added another scalp to their list—Mount Denali in Alaska, the highest mountain in North America, bringing them closer to their dream of scaling the seven summits (the highest mountains of each of the seven continents).
“It’s just ordinary, hardworking people doing extraordinary things,” says Sangeeta, 48, an image consultant, whose husband and mountaineering partner Ankur Bahl, 52, is in the ship broking business. The couple says exploring the mountains came naturally to them as children growing up in Himachal Pradesh. “Our grandparents taught us to appreciate nature in all its elements, go for small treks, hikes on the mountains, etc which ultimately led to the pursuit of serious trekking and climbing,” Sangeeta says.
While a boarder, Ankur was exposed to extensive trekking activities. This left an impression on him to take the sport to the next level by climbing mountains. “We have been religiously climbing major summits for the past three years and aim to climb the seven summits of the world,” says Sangeeta who along with Ankur has scaled heights like Mount Kilimanjaro (19,341 ft) in Africa, Mount Elbrus (18,550 ft) in Russia and Mount Vinson (16,050 ft) in Antarctica among others. Denali in Alaska was their most recent expedition.
Apart from the occasional rushes of adrenaline, the couple love the awe-inspiring views they behold on the way to a peak. “The swiftly flowing clouds, feathered creatures flaunting their flying prowess and a breathtaking aerial view of the low-lying hills, there is no way to experience this exquisite feeling anywhere else,” beams Sangeeta.
The couple who constantly hone their skills at the sport, say they love to test their strength by taking up difficult challenges. An instance would be their climb to Mount Kilimanjaro, which happened when Ankur was 50 and Sangeeta 46.
“When we realised that age was no bar to scale this height, we lost no time to learn the required skills by doing incessant and increasingly difficult climbs across the country,” says Sangeeta.
While every climb soothed their souls, some of them were fraught with danger. On the Denali expedition for instance, Sangeeta incurred a knee injury and had to be carried all the way to the base camp. “You cannot afford to be scared in the mountains” she says adding that facing and winning over one’s fear is what a mountaineer needs to believe to win. The couple also raises funds through mountaineering to support Smile Foundation, an NGO which helps educate underprivileged children.
The couple has defied convention with their mountaineering feats. “In India, the limit for mountaineering is 40. With no training institutes ready to take us in, we completed our training abroad. We want to convey the message that age is not a problem and it is possible to attempt climbing even post 40,” she says. However, she stresses on the need for certified mountaineering schools in hilly regions to train budding mountaineers.
Undoubtedly, mountaineering is not for the faint hearted. “All who dare to venture on the summits know exactly what is in store for them, yet they willingly take the leap of faith,” Sangeeta says.