Scaling the world's highest mountain

Neillima Pudota, who recently scaled the world’s highest mountain, is now an inspiration for many mountaineers back in the state.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu congratulated 30-year-old Neillima for being the first woman from the newly formed state of AP to scale Mt Everest.

“A lot of things happened on the mountain while I was there for about six to eight weeks. I was totally disconnected from the outside world and felt lonely,” she says, adding, “The nature of the mountain and the atmospheric pressure is such that even when the weather is not so bad, scaling Everest is difficult. We are not used to such climatic conditions — we take time to adapt and it’s a constant mental fight. At any point, the winds are very strong. The weather did turn even while I was scaling.”

Neillima, who had completed Basic and Advanced Mountai-neering courses from Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering, had earlier scaled Mt Stok Kangri and Mera Peak, and had done many high altitude treks.

“In Hyderabad I underwent endurance training. I used to run a lot, do yoga, weight training, breathing exercises and focus on building muscular endurance,” she says.

The expedition cost around Rs 35-Rs 40 lakh and it was difficult for her to raise the amount. She also had to quit her job in December to concentrate on raising funds and her training. But the AP government extended help just in time. The Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh sponsored Rs 15 lakh, followed by Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation, which sponsored Rs 5 lakh, and later many others contributed.

“It was difficult to raise funds. Not many here have an idea of mountaineering. As a woman, it was even more difficult. First of all, the part of India I come from, they don’t understand mountaineering. They asked me why I wanted to spend so much money on the Everest expedition when I could get married and settle down in life,” she says adding, “I had approached many people before the government, but no one supported. CM Chandrababu Naidu is a visionary, he was the first person who encouraged me and only after he came ahead, did I get other sponsors.”

“Right now, I am still recovering from the Everest expedition and it could take a month or two. I shall plan my future expeditions after this,” she concludes.