After Everest, Krushnaa Patil sets sight on new peaks

She has scaled peaks, quite literally. For Krushnaa Patil, the youngest Indian woman to conquer Mount Everest in 2009 and the first Indian woman to climb Antarctica’s highest peak Mount Vinson Massif, creating records has become a way of life.

And by June this year, the now 20-year-old Pune-based mountaineer may add another feather to her weather beaten cap by becoming the only Indian woman to successfully complete the Seven Summits Quest. “The goal of the Quest is to scale the highest peaks in each of the seven continents,” said Patil, who is currently in the city to receive an award instituted by the Young Environmentalists Programme Trust, a Mumbai-based NGO. “I’ve successfully climbed six  mountains on the list. During the final summit on Mount McKinley in Alaska, North America, my guide took ill and we had to turn back.”

Patil also aspires to go on expeditions to the North and South Poles. However, financial constraints are holding her back. “Mountaineering is a very expensive sport. Each expedition costs between Rs20 lakh and Rs30 lakh. Hence, it is essential to get financial backing either from the government or private sponsors,” she said.

This young mountaineer believes that when it comes to sports in India, women have to create their own opportunities. “I think we give up easily by just blaming the system. Support will eventually come. But we have to prove ourselves first.”

She recalled how her parents were unable to find sponsors for her
Mount Everest expedition and had to take a loan of Rs30 lakh.

Once she scaled the peak things started rolling; the bank waived off the loan and prizes and accolades followed. She was then able to fund a few trips with the aid she received from the government.

In the pipeline is a project to assist underprivileged kids to reach the Mount Everest base camp. “We were approached by an NGO which wanted us to train and escort the children to the peak.

However, the project is yet to take off as we are still looking for sponsors,” she said. Recently, she and fellow-mountaineer Bachendri Pal cycled across the nation from Kolkata to Kanyakumari. “We are trying to create awareness about adventure sports for women in the country”.