As new records begin to be written on Mt Everest, a 25-year-old woman from India's Arunachal Pradesh state has become the first Indian to peak the world highest mountain this spring. She has also achieved the feat of becoming the first woman climber from India's northeast region.
Tine Mena, who comes from Roing, a remote village in the Indian state, stood on the top of the world at 11 a.m.on Monday. However, due to communication trouble, the news of her ascent was not confirmed till Wednesday, said Nabin Trital, executive manager of Explore Himalaya, the Kathmandu-based mountaineering agency that facilitated Tine Mena's climb by finding her expedition partners so that the high climbing permit fee could be shared.
"She is elated and hopes to return to Kathmandu this week," said Chhiring Dorjee Sherpa, the base camp manager as the climber began her descent on Wednesday.
A second woman from Arunachal Pradesh, 32-year-old Anshu Jamsenpa, is also attempting the summit as part of a different expedition.
Tine Mena said her summiting was intended to raise awareness about climbing and adventure sports among the youth in Arunachal, which though a mountain state, had little public knowledge of or exposure to adventure sports.
She was selected by Arunachal's Sports Directorate after she showed climbing potential during a trekking expedition to the Indo-China border and was sent to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling to undergo a mountaineering course.
Two years ago, the state government of Arunachal Pradesh had also assisted the expedition of male climber Tapi Mra, who became the first climber from the state to summit Mt Everest.
This season, a record 31 men and women from India are attempting to tame Mt Everest.
Besides a 14-member Indian Air Force expedition dominated by women, there are 17 individuals, including the husband and wife duo of Vikash and Sushma Kaushik, who would become the first Indian couple to reach the summit if they succeed.
The mountain has already claimed two lives: Rick Hitch, a 55-year-old American, and Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay, 82, a former foreign minister of Nepal.
On the sunny side, this season saw Nepali climbing legend Apa Sherpa break his own record of having summited Mt Everest the highest number of times to reach the top Wednesday for his 21st ascent.