PANAJI: A 12-year-old mountaineer, Gunjan Pankaj Prabhu Narvekar from Goa set a new global record by successfully climbing three peaks above 6000 metres in the Markha Valley in the Ladakh region in just 62.5 hours. After achieving this commendable feat, Gunjan now aims for Mt Everest.
Gunjan Pankaj Prabhu Narvekar, a 12-year-old Goa girl who is a class 8 student of Jnyan Vikas School in Goa, has climbed and successfully summited three peaks, namely Mt Kang Yatse-II (6250 m), Mt Reponi Mallari-I (6097 m), and Mt Reponi Mallari -II(6113 m) mountain ranges located in the Markha Valley in the Ladakh Region.
She climbed the three 6000 m+ peaks in 49 hours (1st to 3rd Summit) and 62.5 hours (basecamp to basecamp), setting a new global record.
Talking to ANI, Gunjan shared the hardship she experienced during the trek. “The weather was quite bad when we went. Because it was not anticipated that it would snow this month, when we went, we expected a clear sky and not so much snowfall. Because of the snow, it was more difficult, as while walking, our feet would go to knee length in the snow and in some places to hip length, and removing it would get us more tired. But we did not face any injuries,” she said.
She now aims to climb the other highest peaks in the world. Sharing her future plan Gunjan said, “In the future, I plan to do a 7000 m+ peak, but in India, it is not allowed for a person who is not 16 years old to do a 7000 m+ peak, so I will be doing the peak outside of India. I just wish to Summit Mt Everest and Annapurna and make my parents and the nation proud.”
While talking to ANI, Gunjan’s mother expressed her joy and said, “I am very happy to see her, as a trekker, achieving all these feats. I think all parents should support their children to achieve in whatever field they want to do or flourish in.”
In May, Raigarh’s Yashi Jain became the youngest girl from Chhattisgarh to scale Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, and Mount Lhotse, the fourth-highest peak, in 26 hours.
While talking to the reporter, she said, “My dream is to climb the highest peak of the 7 continents, out of which only 3 are left. Apart from this, I want to do something for the children of Chhattisgarh and for our women. They are ahead in every field today but are not getting the recognition they deserve. I need to work on this.” (ANI)