Telangana mountaineer becomes first woman from India to climb Mt Manaslu

Anvitha Reddy, a 24-year-old mountaineer hailing from Telangana's Bhongir town has become the first woman from India to climb the true summit of Mount Manaslu, located in Nepal. Mt Manaslu at 8,163 metres is considered to be the eighth highest mountain peak in the world and Anvitha reached the summit on September 28, 2022, by 9.30 pm. The expedition was not an easy one for Anvitha as she faced avalanches, deep snow, extreme cold temperatures hovering around -45 degrees and winds with a speed of 60 kilometres per hour.

Speaking to TNM, Anvitha said, "The conditions were very tough during this expedition with avalanches and many more hurdles. However, the experience that I had from my previous expeditions helped me cope with it. I was strongly determined not to give up on this.” She recalls a big avalanche on a different climbing route, where 14 climbers were caught and she could see people falling from heights. According to a note released by Anvitha’s team, rescuers found two climbers dead, and four people injured in the avalanche.

Anvitha started her journey at the base of camp of Mt Manaslu on September 11, and it took about 17 days to climb the true summit and to reach her goal. Anvitha explained that the true summit point of Mt Manaslu was 50 metres less, till the summer of 2021. However, the true summit increased by 50 metres, with a comparatively narrow space to climb to the true summit. By reaching the summit, Anvitha has become the first person from the country to scale the peak in this category.

Hailing from Bhongir, which is known for its rocks and rock climbing culture, Anvitha’s interest in mountain climbing was spurred by reading about mountaineering from a paper clipping. She later joined a rock climbing school and received training to equip herself with the necessary skills. Her father Madhusudhan is engaged in agricultural work, and mother Chandrakala is working at an anganwadi in Bhongir.

Anvitha is already busy chalking out her next goal. "I would like to climb seven mountains in seven continents in the future within a span of 1.5 years, that would become a record. I have already covered three of them, and the next expeditions are scheduled in December and January,” she explained. So far, she has scaled Mt Elbrus and Mt Everest along with the recent one to Mt Manaslu.