Parminder Kaur (19) of Ludhiana has brought laurels to the city by scaling an 18,000-foot-high peak in Sikkim. Oxygen levels at such a high altitude are very low, making breathing difficult sans any alternative mode of oxygen. The peak, which is yet to be named, is a part of the Kabru Range that stands next to the Kanchanjunga.
Parminder, an NCC cadet, managed the feat during a 28-day-long advanced mountaineering course organised by the Himalaya Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling. Prior to this, she had undergone a basic course on mountaineering from Manali in June, scoring an alpha that made her eligible for the advanced course.
A student of BSc-III at SCD Government College, Ludhiana, she was part of a 61-member team that included senior Army and Air Force officers and NCC cadets among others. And she is the only girl from Punjab to have achieved the feat.
“The conditions were very hostile and difficult. Out of the total 61, six of our team members withdrew at the start itself due to physical problems. Rest 55 of us managed the climb in three days,” said Parminder said while talking to The Tribune.
“While most of the members were facing some physical problem or the other during the trek, I was quite comfortable. We stayed at an altitude of 15,000 foot for 13 days and throughout, I did not feel the need for oxygen,” added Parminder, who aspires to join the Indian Air Force after completion of her graduation.
Describing Discovery Channel as being her biggest source of inspiration, she says adventure gets her going. “I love to live on the edge,” said Parminder, who belongs to a lower middle class family.
Parminder, an NCC cadet, managed the feat during a 28-day-long advanced mountaineering course organised by the Himalaya Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling. Prior to this, she had undergone a basic course on mountaineering from Manali in June, scoring an alpha that made her eligible for the advanced course.
A student of BSc-III at SCD Government College, Ludhiana, she was part of a 61-member team that included senior Army and Air Force officers and NCC cadets among others. And she is the only girl from Punjab to have achieved the feat.
“The conditions were very hostile and difficult. Out of the total 61, six of our team members withdrew at the start itself due to physical problems. Rest 55 of us managed the climb in three days,” said Parminder said while talking to The Tribune.
“While most of the members were facing some physical problem or the other during the trek, I was quite comfortable. We stayed at an altitude of 15,000 foot for 13 days and throughout, I did not feel the need for oxygen,” added Parminder, who aspires to join the Indian Air Force after completion of her graduation.
Describing Discovery Channel as being her biggest source of inspiration, she says adventure gets her going. “I love to live on the edge,” said Parminder, who belongs to a lower middle class family.
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