To commemorate India's 76th Independence Day, Indian mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya flew the tricolour on Monday on Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe.
Ms. Dehariya, 30, who is from the Madhya Pradesh village of Tamia, planned her journey to reach the top in time for the tricolor's celebration of "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav."
The mountaineer chose to take on the task of climbing the 5,642-metre tallest peak in Europe, which is located on the border of Russia and Georgia. The mountaineer has already scaled Mount Everest.
Ms. Dehariya sent a message from the summit stating, "The weather towards the top of the mountain was extremely cold, with gusts blowing up to 35 km/h and making visibility reduced with temperatures down to minus 25 degrees Celsius."
We found it challenging to even take a brief break during the coldest weather. I was, however, mentally ready for the summit after giving birth. I prepared for this day by practising a lot in the Tamia highlands. As a result, I was able to ascend Mount Elbrus in record time, according to Ms. Dehariya, a mother of a 15-month-old girl.
Bhawna Dehariya recounted her expedition's experiences when talking with a group of mountaineers. On August 10, they travelled from Moscow to Mineralny Vody, where they planned to start their trek up Mount Elbrus.
In addition to having a blood clot from my nostril while undergoing high altitude acclimatisation during the rotation for climatic adaptation at a height of 2,346 metres, the following day was exceedingly taxing due to poor weather, Ms. Dehariya said.
"After that, on August 12, we built a base camp with the group at a height of 3,888 metres, from which we rotated for the next two days up to a height of 4,500 metres. Notably, it is believed that this rotation is crucial for preventing acute mountain sickness and variations in mountain air pressure "She spoke.
The team left for the peak at midnight on August 13 and arrived in the early hours of August 15.
The enthusiastic mountaineer proudly declared, "I majestically raised the tricolour at Mount Elbrus West's peak, which is 5,642 metres above sea level.
The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board and the State Bank of India collaborated on this trip, which Bhawna Dehariya acknowledges as one of the most challenging, taxing, and physically tiring.
On May 22, 2019, she made history by becoming one of the first women from Madhya Pradesh to summit Mount Everest. The following year, she also conquered Mount Kosciuszko in Australia. She has also conquered Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in the continent of Africa, and she has had the chance to celebrate Diwali and Holi at some of the highest mountains.
Her most recent excursion, which was intended for "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav," was extremely difficult because she had to leave her daughter behind. The mountaineer, however, is adamant about completing the highest summits on each of the seven continents as part of her "Seven Summits Quest" and raising the tricolour on all of them.