Two
mountaineer sisters from Haryana state, India, achieved a unique world record on Tuesday.
Nungshi
and Tashi Singh Mallik became the first twins to climb Mt Vinson, the highes
t
peak of Antarctica. In doing so, they created history by becoming the first
siblings—and twins—to scale the tallest mountain peaks in all seven continents.
They have
also entered the hall of fame for mountaineers, the Seven Summit Club.
‘Nungshi’
is Manipuri for ‘love’ and ‘Tashi’ is Tibetan for ‘good luck’. The identical
twins began their expeditions in February 2012 by climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in
Africa. They ascend
ed Mt
Everest, the highest peak in the world, in May 2013, followed by Mt Elbrus in
Europe in August that year. In January 2014, they climbed Mt Aconcagua, South
America, after which there was Mt Carstensz Pyramid in Australasia in March.
Next was
McKinley, North America, in June and finally Mt Vinson. At 16,045 ft, it is the
highest peak in Antarctica and located 660 nautical miles from the South Pole.
The girls reached the final summit around 4pm local time on Tuesday after a
tough eight-hour climb from the high camp to the summit. They were helped by a
sudden break in weather that turned friendly soon after they commenced their
final push for the summit.
The
sisters will return to their home base in New Delhi in a few weeks. “On
December 19, they will embark on the Explorers Grand Slam by skiing to the
Poles. No South Asian has achieved this feat, as far as I know,” their father
said.
Impressive young ladies indeed. No simple task at all.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. :)