Remembering Bachendri Pal on Her Birth Anniversary

On May 24, 1954, the great mountaineer Bachendri Pal was born. This year, Bachendri Pal turned 68 years old. In 1984, she became the first Indian woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Bachendri Pal was born in Uttarakhand to a working class family. She started mountain climbing at the young age of 12. Because she was a bright student, her parents wanted her to become a school teacher, but she insisted on becoming a professional mountaineer. Over the next years she trained for the same and successfully summited small mountain peaks. 

This led to her joining India’s first mixed gender team for Mt. Everest expedition. The team began its expedition in May 1984. During the journey, they were unfortunately met with an avalanche which caused half of the team members to return. Bachendri Pal was one of the remaining mountaineers who continued the journey. Her decision to go on turned out to be fruitful as on May 23, 1984, she became the first Indian woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest and made history.

After this great feat of achievement, Bachendri Pal led several all-women teams in several fields such as mountaineering and river rafting. In 1984, she was honored with the Padma Shri award which is the fourth highest civilian award in India.