The first woman from Meghalaya to conquer Mount Everest

The first woman from Meghalaya to conquer Mount Everest

Mount Everest is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The discovery of this great mountain was made in 1847 by the British during their Great Trigonometric survey, and its official name was given by the Royal Geographical Society in 1865 upon the recommendation of Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor of India. Its official height was also given by Andrew Waugh estimated at a staggering 8,848m or 29.029ft making it the tallest mountain on Earth. However, the height of the mountain was revised by the Chinese Academy of Sciences after several months of measuring and calculating, announcing the official height of the mountain to be 8,844.43m or 29,014.16 feet which they claimed to be the most precise measurement. The first persons to ever successfully scale this mountain were Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay in the year 1953, proving to the world that this feat was possible.

Meghalaya can now also boast of having citizens who have conquered this mountain. Although she is not the first from the state to reach the summit of Mount Everest (Gary Jarman Lamare being the first), Wansuk Myrthong has recently been successful in her quest to reach the top of the mountain. After being flagged off for the challenge by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Wansuk set off with her team to the Himalayas filled with determination to succeed in the quest for reaching the top of the tallest mountain in the world.

Wansuk Myrthong on her arrival back to her home town of Shillong was greeted with open arms. She has been the talk of the town ever since. She was even felicitated by the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Dr. Mukul Sangma for her awe inspiring achievement. During the felicitation programme Dr. Sangma stated that Wansuk Myrthoing has made the state proud by becoming the first ever woman from Meghalaya to conquer Mount Everest. He also said that he hopes that this achievement will further inspire the youth of the state to take part in various other such activities and further glorify the state with outstanding achievements. Another important statement made by Dr. Mukul Sangma was that it was very vital to recognize and appreciate this great achievement of Wansuk Myrthong while adding, “Anything good must be appreciated, otherwise the bad will prevail”.

Wansuk Myrthong was born in Shillong in the year 1983. The 30 year old mountaineer who is currently an armed Constable of the Meghalaya Police Force was a very active girl as a child. She was brought up in an environment where most of her childhood friends were boys and so her lifestyle was not a very feminine nature. When she was a teenager she took up football as a hobby, and even stated playing in the junior levels of the state, she was also encouraged by her father to keep on playing. By the age of 15 she was selected to represent the state in playing the sport in the junior levels. This played a crucial role in making her tougher and was instrumental in her later quest to scale Mount Everest.

Her dream or goal in life was decided when she was just 18 year old. It was during that age that she realized that she wanted to climb and conquer Mount Everest. After getting the opportunity to train for mountaineering which she was offered from her police department she accepted the offer and discovered that she had a developed an interest in the sport and was also very passionate about it. She ventured into this sport with all her heart and decided to take it up to her utmost ability. It was then that she decided to take on Mount Everest. Later after receiving an invitation from Manipur to join a team and go on an expedition of Mount Everest with them, she agreed and thus began her journey to the top of the world.
 
Recently, Eastern Panorama’s Hubert Nongkhlaw had the opportunity to meet Wansuk Myrthong and ask her some questions about her recent achievement and her whole experience which lead to her climb on Mount Everest. The following are excerpts of this interview.

EP - Considering the fact that mountaineering is not such a popular sport in Meghalaya, what got you started in this sporting discipline?

WM - Well I have always been fascinated by mountaineering, I started getting into this by various other activities at a very small age that is in the year 2004. Activities such as trekking and rock climbing in the natural environment present in Meghalaya,influenced me to take up mountaineering. The reason  why I had started off this way is because of the lack of artificial surroundings that is needed to practice mountaineering in a safe manner. We had to practice in natural surroundings with natural rock structure which is more dangerous. Then later, after I had join the police department I had the opportunity to enter this sport when the police department presented me and asked me whether I was willing or not to participate in a basic mountaineering course, and that is when it all started for me. It was a 42 day course and there were a total of 60 participants and I was the only woman among them. I had to struggle being the only woman, and ended up securing the second position with grade AX.

EP - It is widely known that mountaineering is an expensive sport which is not sustainable on a personal basis, as such who has supported you through sponsorship and has the Government of Meghalaya had a hand in this?

WM - Indeed, mountaineering is an expensive sport. I have dreamt of climbing Mount Everest since 2008 after completion of my basic course, but lacked the funds to proceed with my dream. So I discussed the matter with my Ex-commandant Shri. Francis Kharshiing, who is also the superintendent of security and he always encouraged me to go forth with my dream. In 2012, I received another opportunity from Manipur, a group of people wanted me to join them on an expedition and this led to the formation of my team. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Northeastern Council for sponsoring me 16 lakhs and of course my own department sponsored 2 lakhs as without their support all of this wouldn’t have been possible. A total of 18 lakhs was needed in order to bear with the expenditure for the expedition.

EP - Apart from mountaineering, is there any other sport that you are into?

WM - Well to say the least, I love sports. Before getting into mountaineering, I was an all-rounder; I played everything I could get into grasp. In my younger days I played sports like cricket, arm wrestling, badminton but most of all I loved playing football. I even represented my state when I was 15 years old, as I was selected to represent the state in national level competitions.

EP - What were the hardships that you faced during your ascent on Mount Everest?

WM - Well it took me 2 months to summit Mount Everest, so during those two months I had to face a lot of difficulties and dangers. Headaches due the cold was probably the most prominent difficulty I had to face, so in order overcome the headache we were taught to mainly take care of ourselves by the use of acclimatization and also to drink lots of fluids. Another difficulty I had to face was the loss of appetite due to the headaches. I had lost a total of 6 kg’s during the climb, but no matter what condition our appetite was in, we had to eat as we needed  energy for  climbing  and  also  to survive. The climb itself was also difficult, as unlike other activities which are done during the day, mountaineering involves travelling in the middle of midnight, and I thought to myself here I am walking through the valley of death in order to reach the top of Mount Everest, while everyone is asleep  peacefully. Various other danger such as avalanches and the scorching heat of the sun did also pose a huge threat to me and my team, hence the reason why we had to travel during midnight.
 
EP - How did you and your team prepare yourselves for the climb? Were there any training camps that you attended?

WM - A year before our attempt on Mount Everest we did some acclimatization such as yoga, in various training camps and we had gone for a pre-everest expedition climb on a mountain situated at Himachal Pradesh which measures a staggering 21000 feet. Before even reaching our base camp we had also done more acclimatization and climbed other mountains that were below the height of Mount Everest.

EP - There is a lack of training institutes for mountaineering in Meghalaya, which has hampered the growth of popularity of this sport in the state. Apart from the creation of institutes what more can be done for the promotion of this sport?

WM - The only answer that comes to my mind is the creation of our own institutes itself. People from the state who are seriously thinking about taking up mountaineering have to depend on outside institutes, while we have the most suitable natural environment present in the state for training mountaineers as Meghalaya is a hilly state. We can only move forward with the promotion of the sport only if institutes with good facilities are provided. I think it is better to think about bringing up institutes first and then think about promoting the sport by other means and measures.

EP - How do you manage between your normal duties and your hobby considering the fact that preparation for your ascent is a time consuming and long process, which may involve long absence from active duty?

WM - Believe it or not the answer to this is actually punctuality. I have a strict timing that I follow that has helped to prepare for my climb. I wake in the morning around 4.30 am and begin the day with a morning walk followed by some physical training and yoga, after that I attend my duties at work which begins at 9.30 am and I had also requested the additional SP who was in-charge to permit me to leave work early at around 4 p.m. as I had  to hit the gym and also do some aerobics, which he complied since, he also knew that I was preparing for the climb.

EP - Since you are the first woman from Meghalaya to reach the summit of Mount Everest, what advice do you have to women who are striving to do something as great?

WM - My message to them would be to please show their talent and not hide it. I would also advise them, to do whatever they want to do with all sincerity. Discipline is also another attribute that they must maintain while attempting to do anything, and lastly I would advise them to do whatever they are into wholeheartedly and never let any obstacle or hardship discourage them from striving towards their goals.

EP - On reaching the peak of Mount Everest, what feelings and emotions were going through you that very moment?

WM - After I had reached the summit I felt extremely happy, as I had conquered Mount Everest and fulfilled my dreams at the same time. I was literally standing on top of the world, tears of joy filled my eyes as I had made my dreams come true. I fell on my knees  and then I started to pray and I thanked the lord for being with me all throughout my journey to the top of the world. However, my moment of happiness was short-lived as I had to go back down, reason being that the weather conditions that day was not so good and I also had limited amount of oxygen left in my tank. I had spent about fifteen minutes on the top of Mount Everest, however, my memories of those fifteen minutes of my life will be cherished forever by me for as long as I live.

EP - Since mountaineering is an exhausting activity, how do you relax yourself?

WM - Well there’s really not a lot ways you can relax while you are on a mountain, I mean you don’t get much sleep and also you tend to lose a lot of weight due to the food that you eat, but as I had stated earlier yoga which was taught to us before the climb was our only way to relax. The only real type of relaxation that a mountaineer can get is only after he/she has descended from the mountaint and when they reached  their base camp where they can sleep soundly and peacefully. It is also important to note that after descending, the mountaineer should try to regain the weight that they lost during the climb in order to keep fit and make sure that their health is not in jeopardy.

EP - Is there any sport figure that you really admire?

WM - Yeah, there is one person that I do admire. She is also a mountaineer and her name is Anshu Jensempa from Arunachal Pradesh. Although she is much senior to me, she is like my sister, she had already reached the summit of Mount Everest twice before and this year I had the opportunity to reach the peak of Mount Everest  along with her, the  third time. I like her because she is blessed with a  teaching heart  and also advised me on  many matters that I think  I can  never acquire from anyone else.

EP - Besides mountaineering what else do you like to do in your free time?

WM - Well I like listening to music a lot, and I prefer to listen to music in quiet and peaceful places where I am not disturbed by anyone else. I also like to do a lot of charity work and play with kids whenever I get the chance.

EP - Did you use any special products while you were in the Himalayas?

WM - Well in order to protect myself from UV radiation emitted by the sun at such high altitudes I had to regularly apply sunscreen lotion that had SPF (Sun Protection Factor) or better known as a 60 plus cream.

EP - What kind of food items did you find most suitable and most nutritional during your climb?

WM - Well as you know there is not much of abundance of food items on mountain and you can’t prepare normal food for yourself  as it is almost impossible to cook them due to the temperature. Hence, we had to rely on food items that were easy to cook and pre-cooked or ready to eat items such as Maggi, biscuits, chocolates,  varieties of juices and dry fruits.

EP - What are your future plans with regard to your involvement in this sport?

WM - As a mountaineer I love to climb mountains, so if I get the chance I would like to continue climbing and try to conquer either K2 or Kanchenjunga as I have heard from other experienced mountaineers that these mountains are more challenging and involve a lot more technicality in their climb.

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