10-year-old Vizag girl conquers Himalayan peak of Mt Stok Kangri
A 10-year-old mountaineer from Visakhapatnam, Kaamya Karthikeyan, successfully summited one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas earlier this week, making her one of the youngest people in the world to achieve this feat.
Writing for the Times of India, Sulogna Mehta reported that Kaamya completed the expedition three days before she turned 10, on August 7, thereby conquering Mount Stok Kangri.
At a height of 6,153 metres (20,187 ft), Stok Kangri is not recommended for beginners, and is considered ideal for advanced trekkers.
Speaking to TOI, her father S Karthikeyan said, “We reached the base camp at 5pm after 19 hours of toil. Kaamya walked to the dining tent and picked up a Sudoku book. Even when she reached the summit at 9.45am after 12 hours of walking through the night, her only reaction was, 'It has been a long day'."
Kaamya was accompanied by her parents, who also summited the mountain.
In May this year, Kaamya had successfully reached the base camp of Mt Everest at 5,464 metres (18,200 feet).
That same month, six youngsters from Andhra created history by scaling the Mount Everest, and becoming the first non-Chinese team to open the route in a season.
The six people were sponsored by the Andhra Pradesh government, and they hoisted the national flag at the peak once they reached.
What was even more heartening was that all the mountaineers who scaled the world's highest peak, were from underprivileged families.
The students were coached by B Shekar Babu, an ace mountaineer who had scaled Mt Everest himself, and who is also a recipient of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu also congratulated the team on scaling the peak.