Sheetal Raj becomes youngest women to scale Mt Everest

Twenty-two-year-old Sheetal Raj, a resident of Salmoda village in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand became the youngest woman to scale Mount Everest. The announcement was made on May 16.

She was a member of the expedition crew called 'Climbing Beyond the Summit: Everest Expedition 2019'. The expedition was sponsored by Mahindra and Autowheels Rudrapur. Earlier in 2018, she had climbed the Kanchenjunga making this her second major climb in her early days of mountaineering.

“I am humbled and overwhelmed that I was able to reach the peak of Mount Everest. I could not have done it without the support of my parents and teachers,”

Sheetal received praise from many including the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat, He had tweeted about her achievement in Hindi which roughly translates to, “Congratulations to Sheetal Raj on climbing the world's highest peak, Mt. Everest. Sheetal had also previously set a record for the youngest to climb Kanchenjunga as well. The whole of Uttarakhand is proud of her achievement.”

“My child was always good in everything she did, because she because she had the tendency to never give up. She never shied away from working hard. I am so proud that she was able to achieve what she dreamt of.” Sheetal’s mother Sapna Devi told the Times of India.

Earlier this year, sixteen-year-old Shivangi Pathak became the youngest Indian girl to climb the peak.