By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, July 05:
Ms. Kaamya Karthikeyan, the mountaineering prodigy and daughter of Commander S Karthikeyan of the Indian Navy, carried the tricolour and the Naval Ensign to the summit of Mount Denali (20310 ft) on June 27, becoming the youngest Indian to achieve the feat.
Her mountaineering expedition was flagged off by Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, on June 03.
The remote Alaskan peak is the highest in the North American continent and is perhaps the toughest of the seven summit challenges. With this climb, she has crossed the fifth milestone on her way to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents and ski to both the poles. With Mounts Everest and Vinson, and the polar ski traverses remaining, Kaamya is well placed to complete the Explorer’s Grandslam, probably being the youngest to do so.
The the14-year-old Kaamya is a student of class 10 in Navy Children School, Mumbai. In 2020 she sumitted Mt. Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America and outside of Asia to become the youngest girl in the world to summit that peak. She submitted the 6,962-metre (20841 feet) tall Argentinian mountain peak on the first of February (04.00 hrs), unfurling the Indian tricolour.
She bags a long list of summits to her credit and swears by her running and cycling workouts to be the wind behind her wings. As a child, Kaamya had developed a deep passion for mountaineering as she listened to her father’s stories of Himalayan-scaling expeditions. Initially, she started with basic treks in Lonavala, (Pune, Maharashtra) at the age of three, and by nine, she had completed several high-altitude Himalayan treks with her parents including (Roopkund (5020 meters) in Uttarakhand.
She began exploring the Himalayas and trekked to many beautiful locations like Chandrashila Peak, Har-ki Dun, Kedarkantha Peak, Roopkund Lake, Brighu Lake, and Sar pass. Her most notable trekking accomplishment came in May 2017, when she trekked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal at 17600 ft to become the second youngest girl in the world to accomplish the feat.
In August 2017, Kaamya climbed Mt. Stok Kangri at 20187 Ft to become the youngest climber in the world to climb a peak above 20000 Ft or 6000 Metres. No stranger to tall mountains, on August 24, 2019, under extreme cold weather conditions, she summitted Mt Mentok Kangri II (6262 m) (20,544 feet) peak that overlooks the Tso Moriri lake in Ladakh,
Her mission is to conquer the highest peaks on every continent and ski to both the Poles. She has already bested the highest peaks in Africa, Europe, and Australia. The Indian Navy wishes her the best in all future endeavours. May she grow from the summit to summit, an official statement said.
