Jakarta: Indian mountaineer Arunima Sinha from Uttar Pradesh has added another feather to her cap by becoming the first female amputee to scale the highest peak of Indonesia – Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya).
Post her climb, Arunima said, “This was my toughest climb till now. Though not so high (4,884 m), this peak is very technical as the entire area is a rain forest, which makes climbing difficult as compared to a mountain with ice all around.”
Born in 1988, she was the first female amputee to climb Mount Everest. Excited about her achievement, Arunima explained how difficult it was for her to go through the terrain with an artificial leg. “On a mountain covered with ice, the sharp points in front of your shoes help cling and climb. But on Carstensz Pyramid, I had to pull my body upward,” she said while recalling her adventure on the intervening night of July 7 and 8. “I reached the base camp on July 6 and then waited a day to acclimatise. I began my climb on July 7 at 1am and reached the peak next morning (July 8) at 10.45. The first thing I did was to hold the national flag high,” she said.
Arunima was a national-level volleyball player who was pushed from a running train by thieves in 2011. As a result, one of her legs had to be amputated below the knee.
Her team had seven members, including two each from US and Poland. “My guide Abi supported me even as many said this was a tricky mountain,” said Arunima, who still has pain in her leg.
She used big shoes to reach the base camp. These are usually used while making the road, but for her they were perfect as she had to walk all through the rainforest to reach the base camp.
“When I reached the base camp, the temperature was minus 4 degrees Celsius,” added Arunima.
She has already conquered five peaks – Everest in Asia, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Elbrus in Europe, Kosizko in Australia and Aconcagua in Argentina. Arunima aims to climb the highest peaks in all the continents' and unfurl the Indian flag.
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