| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Born | (1979-11-01)1 November 1979 (age 45) |
| Occupation | Mountaineer |
| Climbing career | |
| Major ascents | Mount Everest in 2010 Mount Elbrus in 2012 |
Mamta Sodha is an Indian sportsperson, known for her successful 2010 attempt to scaleMount Everest.[1] She was honoured by theGovernment of India, in 2014, by bestowing on her thePadma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field ofmountaineering sport.[2]
Mamta Sodha was born on 1 November 1979,[3] atKaithal, in the state ofHaryana, in India, in a family with poor financial resources, as the eldest of three girls and two boys.[4][5][6] She lost her father, Laxman Dass Sodha, who worked as an inspector with the Haryana Food and Supplies Department, in 2004,[4][5] and her mother, Mewa Devi,[5] had to support the family with the help of her brothers.[6]
Mamta did her schooling at a local school in Kaithal and college studies at the RKSD College, Kaithal from where she secured her graduate degree, getting high grades.[6] Subsequently, she earned her master's degree inPhysical Education (MPhEd) fromKurukshetra University, in 2005[3][4] and joined the same university at the Shaheed Baba Deep Singh College of Physical Education, Haryana, as a lecturer.[7][5]
After the successful Everest climb, the Government of Haryana absorbed her into theHaryana Police Force. Mamta Sodha is now aDeputy Superintendent of Police with Haryana Police since 11 August 2010.[3]
Mamta had a passion for rock climbing early on,[4][6] a trait encouraged by her father.[4] Soon, she made up her mind to climb Mount Everest one day for which she joined theNehru Institute of Mountaineering, in the state of Uttarakhand.[5] Prior to embarking on the project, she scaled a few other peaks. She was a member of the IMF Golden Jubilee expedition team that scaled Phawararang Peak in July 2008.[3][8] Two months later, in October, she climbed the Mun Peak with another team, while on an expedition atMcLeod Ganj.[3][8] In August 2009, she summited Shri Kanth Peak with an all-women team.[3][8]
She has also scaled other peaks of varying heights such as Morni Peak,Khüiten Peak, Inderhara Pass[4] andIsland Peak[8] on various occasions. This was followed by an attempt onIsland (Imja-tse) Peak which she successfully accomplished in April 2010, just prior to the Mount Everest expedition.[3]
The total financial outlay for the Everest project was around₹1.8 million.[6] Mamta collected the money by way of contributions from several agencies and individuals such as Haryana state government (₹300,000), PWD Minister, Randeep Singh Surjewala (₹51,000), Kurukshetra member of parliament,Navin Jindal (₹500,000}, District Police Commissioner Amneet P Kumar (₹250,000) and various others[4][6] and the project started in April 2010, with the encouragement of previous Everest climbersBachendri Pal andSantosh Yadav.[7] The expedition team consisted of 13 members, of which nine mountaineers were from United States, Denmark, Switzerland and Australia and the remaining four from India, including 16-year-oldArjun Vajpai.[9] The team was led by the legendaryApa Sherpa, who held the world record of 19 successful climbs of[10] Mount Everest. The team spent 40 days atKhumbu Glacier, where the team had set up their base camp, for acclimatisation. The route was the traditionalSouth Col route inNepal. The team, after periodic stop overs at three or four camps en route, finally reached the top around 20 May 2010. At 10.24 am, on 22 May, 2010, Mamta Sodha summited Mount Everest.[3][9]
After the Everest triumph, Mamta scaled the highest peak in Europe,Mount Elbrus, in 2012.[11]
Apart from being a mountaineer, Mamta Sodha excelled inhandball, too.[5] She was a member of the Haryana state girls team which secured runner up position at the 21st Junior Girls' National Handball Championship, held at Agra in November 1998.[3] As a member of theKurukshetra University team, she was a winner at the All India Inter-University Handball tournament in December 1998.[3] In 2003, she was selected as aB1 grade sportsperson inHandball by the Sports and Youth Welfare department ofHaryana Government.
Mamta Sodha is also a member of National Adventure Club.[5][12]
