Indian mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya unfurled the national flag on Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain peak in Europe on the occasion of the 76th Independence Day on Monday.
The 30-year-old mountaineer hails from Tamia, a small village in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district. She had to time her climb in order to reach the peak in time to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ with the tricolour.
Having already climbed Mount Everest in the past, Dehariya took on the challenge of scaling the 5,642 metre peak, the highest in Europe located on the Russia-Georgia border.
In a video message from the peak, she said, “The weather near the top of the mountain was extremely cold, with winds blowing up to 35 km/h and making visibility subsided with temperatures down to minus 25 degrees Celsius.”
“It made it difficult for us even to take a rest for few minutes amid the coldest weather. However, post-pregnancy, I was mentally prepared for the summit. I geared myself up for this day and practiced a lot in the mountains of Tamia. Thus, this made me successfully reach the top of Mount Elbrus before record time,” added Dehariya.
Speaking about her expedition, the mountaineer said, “We established a base camp with the group on August 12 at a height of 3,888 metres, where we had rotation for the following two days up to a height of 4,500 metres. Notably, this rotation is considered to be essential for protecting the body from acute mountain sickness and fluctuations in mountain air pressure.”
She said that on August 13 midnight, the team set off on the final climb to the peak and arrived in the wee hours of August 15.
“I hoisted the tricolour with grandeur at the peak of Mount Elbrus West, which is 5,642 metres high above the sea level,” said Dehariya.
She has previously climbed the highest peaks in different continents around the world. In May 2019, she scaled Mount Everest. She climbed Mount Kosciuszko in Australia that year itself.
The avid climber scaled Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro as well. She has also celebrated Diwali and Holi at some of the highest peaks.