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| (Left) Trishala Gurung and Sulaxchana Tamang in Darjeeling on Monday. Picture by Suman Tamang |
Similarly, Sulaxana’s father Om Prakash Tamang too was overjoyed to know that his daughter had achieved what others can only dream about. “I had heard about my daughter making the ascent on May 21 but did not get confirmation. However, today I spoke to Sulaxana at Base Camp. At such a young age when she was free to choose to do anything, she chose to climb the world’s highest peak. I believe it will give a positive message to females of her age,” he said. According to the father, Trishala last called him on May 18 from Kala Patthar at Base Camp. “That was the last time I spoke to her. She was confident and even joked that she would have a new title after the summit. It is a proud feeling being her parents. She has made the hills and the nation proud,” Gurung said.
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| Miss Trishala Gurung from Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. in the Mount Everest |
Anuradha Rai, principal of Southfield College, where Trishala is presently studying, said she too had heard of the successful Everest summit but was awaiting concrete reports from the NCC head office in Delhi. “I cannot say much as I do not have the actual report or information. But we are proud of Trishala’s achievement. She has made the college and the hills proud,” she said when asked for her comment. Trishala and Sulaxana were selected from more than 100 aspirants from across the nation to participate in the all girls’ expedition organised by the Army. The selection process started at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling after 29 days of basic training. Of the 100 hopefuls, 40 were short-listed for the two-month pre-expedition training at Deo Tibba in Himachal Pradesh from May to June, 2015. Further, 15 were then selected from the 40 to undergo advance training at Trishul Peak in Uttarakhand from August to October, 2015.
Om Prakash Tamang, father of Sulaxchana, 21, said: “My daughter called me around 7am today. She had just returned to the base camp. She said the team had successfully climbed Mount Everest. We are very happy.” According to Om Prakash, Sulaxchana was part of the first batch to climb the summit. Ganesh Gurung, father of Trishala, 22, said she had called him this evening to confirm the success of the team. Lt. Col. Kohli said the team had climbed the peak in two batches on May 21 and 22. Preparation for the expedition by the NCC team had started more than a year back. In November 2014, 100 girls from across the country had been selected for training at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. After completing a nearly one-month training, 40 girls were shortlisted in February 2015. “The 40 girls were then taken to climb Mount Deo Tibba (19,688ft) in Himachal Pradesh. After the 41-day expedition, 15 girls were selected for another expedition,” said Ganesh. Between August and October 2015, the 15 girls were taken to an expedition to Mount Trishul (23,353ft) in Uttarakhand. After 50 days of that expedition, 10 girls were selected to scale Mount Everest. The team led by Col. Gaurav Karki was flagged off in Delhi on March 9.
