.jpg) Pal in March 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Born | (1954-05-24)24 May 1954 (age 71) Nakuri,Uttarkashi,Uttarakhand, India |
| Website | tsafindia |
| Climbing career | |
| Major ascents | First Indian woman to reach the summit ofMount Everest in 1984[1] |
Bachendri Pal (born 24 May 1954) is anIndianmountaineer. She is the first Indian woman to climb the summit of the world's highest mountain,Mount Everest. She is a recipient of the third highest civilian award in India,Padma Bhushan.[2]
In 1984, India scheduled its fourth expedition to Mount Everest, christened "Everest '84". Bachendri Pal was selected as one of the members of the group of six Indian women and eleven men to attempt the ascent of Mount Everest (Sagarmatha inNepalese). The team was flown toKathmandu, the capital ofNepal, in March 1984, and from there the team moved onwards. Recalling her first glimpse of Mount Everest, Bachendri reminisced, "We, the hill people, have always worshipped the mountains... my overpowering emotion at this awe-inspiring spectacle was, therefore, devotional."[3] The team commenced its ascent in May 1984. Her team almost met disaster when an avalanche buried their camp, and more than half the group abandoned the attempt because of injury or fatigue. Bachendri Pal and the remainder of the team pressed on to reach the summit.[1] Bachendri Pal recalled, "I was sleeping in one of the tents with my teammates at Camp III at an altitude of 24,000 ft (7,315.2 m). On the night of 15–16 May 1984, at around 00:30 hoursIST, I was jolted awake; something had hit me hard; I also heard a deafening sound and soon after I found myself being enveloped within a very cold mass of material."[3]
On 22 May 1984,Ang Dorje (theSherpasirdar) and some other climbers joined the team to ascend to the summit of Mount Everest; Bachendri was the only woman in this group. They reached theSouth Col and spent the night there at Camp IV at the altitude of 26,000 ft (7,924.8 m). At 6:20 a.m. on 23 May 1984, they continued the ascent, climbing "vertical sheets of frozen ice"; cold winds were blowing at the speed of about 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) and temperatures touching −30 to −40 °C (−22 to −40 °F). On 23 May 1984, the team reached the summit of Mount Everest at 1:07 p.m. and Bachendri Pal created history.[4]
Bachendri Pal continued to be active after ascending the highest peak in the world. She successfully led:
Bachendri Pal, along withPremlata Agarwal and a group of ice climbers including Mount Everest summiteers, arrived in Uttarkashi and carried out relief and rescue operations in the remotest high altitude villages of theHimalayas that had been ravaged in the2013 North India floods.[7]
Bachendri Pal has been conferred with following awards and accolades:[5][8]
| International | |
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| National | |
