Anshu Jamsepa: On Top Of The World

Who is AnshuJamsenpa?

AnshuJamsepa is an Indian mountaineer, hailing from Bomdila. It is a remote border town in India's Northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. She was born on the last day of the year 1979, in Dirang Village of Arunachal Pradesh. She moved to Bomdila when she was a child. Her father was in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and her mother is a nurse. She has three elder sisters and a younger brother. Her husband is TseringWange. She is the mother of two children, Pasang Droma and Tenzin Nyiddon.Anshu is the first woman in the world to scale the summit of Mount Everest twice in a season, two times. The first time she did this was in 2011 within a span of 10 days and the second time in 2017, within five days. She is the first double summiteer to accomplish this feat.

Was mountaineering always a dream for AnshuJamsenpa?

Anshu was adventurous ever since she was a child. Although the idea of becoming a mountaineer wasn't there in her mind initially, she mentions that she was fascinated about climbing when she was a child. She wasn't familiar with the idea of fear until she climbed Mount Everest. After successfully completing an expedition to the Everest, the risky and life-threatening moments that she experienced led to the birth of fear in her.

The mountaineer draws inspiration from her surroundings. She believes that one's surroundings are always sending messages.

She used to love spending time alone. She loved listening to music and even wrote diaries. Anshu always wanted to do something different in her life. She believes that the craze was always present in her. Besides her other adventurous activities, she also loves to ride adventure bikes.

The first ascent and the first view

Anshu always wanted to have a live view of the Mount Everest. Before starting her climb she never checked out views of the top or footages which were easily available on the Internet, given that the whole world knows the Mount Everest. She never thought that she would get to experience a view like the ones which she experienced when she stood at the peak of the Everest for the first time on 12 May, 2011. She felt very lucky.

For Anshu, it is a bit difficult to describe the exact view from the peak of Everest. However,what she felt like was that she on the top of the world. It is a different world out there and all one can see is snowcapped mountains surrounding one. It is a mesmerizing scene according to the mountaineer. Standing on top of Everest and hoisting the national flag is a feeling of pride for every mountaineer. She says that it feels like you are representing the entire nation. A mountaineer feels blessed when she stands on top of a peak. She feels like she is near to God. It is an overwhelming feeling according to Jamsenpa. She, however,states that the situation demands that they keep a control on their emotions as they have to return back on the same route.

The second double ascent

During the first ascent in 2017, the weather was good. However, Anshu was experiencing some malfunction in her oxygen container, which resulted in her feeling weak. She says that she was one of those people who always advised theothers to preserve their energy to make the return trip. However, this time she was wondering if she had enough energy even to climb up due to this condition. Her mind was constantly telling her toturn back from halfway. Despite her misgivings she pushed on, making it to the summit. She summitted the Everest at 9.15 am on 16 May along with 17 other climbers.

During the second ascent, the condition was more pathetic. There were people who were dying infront of her. Many of them were suffering from frostbite. Anshu was feeling helpless watching fellow mountaineers in such a condition. There were severe storms and two people died during the second ascent. She finally reached the peak at 7.45 am on 21 May, 2017.

Training before the first expedition

Before her expedition in 2011, Anshu trained for 15 days where she learned the basic mountaineering skills. She was given a complete vision of what she would have to face during the training. She realised during the training period that it was a good platform to achieve her goal of doing something for society and for her own personal growth. The mountaineer said that a lot of talent exists in this part, of which people in other parts of the nation were not aware of. After that, she completed her advanced training and managed to acquire all the hard physical and mental skills that are required to be a mountaineer.

Challenges before the first expedition

There were a lot of challenges that Anshu faced before starting her first venture and at one point it even seemed impossible. She was trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. Then she received some support from her well-wishers, family and peers. She even took a loan. She even sold her ancestral property to meet the expenses. She received 50 percent financial aid for the required budget and the rest she managed by herself.

Challenges during an expedition

The mountaineer said that during an expedition one has to battle with a lot of things. This also implied the moments when one has to answer the call of nature. Mountaineers have to struggle as toilet facilities are not available during an expedition. There are times when one has to go and anchor to a point before excretions.

The mountaineer explains that while gearing up for an expedition one has to buy oxygen bottles and other necessities like dried fruit and ready-to-eat foods. In the mountains they can only heat and not cook. She says that mountaineers melt the ice for drinking water. It is important to pay attention to the smallest detail as one might have to pay with their life if they are not careful.

Financial facilities for Mountaineering and adventure sports in the region

According to Anshu, mountaineering is considered as one of the most dangerous and expensive sports. The equipment required to successfully complete a climb is very costly. One cannot compromise on the quality of such equipment as mountaineering involves risk to life and the lives of the mountaineers depend on these equipment. Adventure sports in the nation lack the facilities and support of the national sport policies which other sports receive. Thus, adventure sports lacks Government support and in order to commence a mountaineering expedition; one has to find sponsors for oneself. Anshu asserts that a minimum amount of Rs 20 to 22 lakhs is required to carry out an expedition to the Mount Everest.

Learning Experiences as a Mountaineer

Anshubelieves that being a mountaineer hasled to experiences that has been transformational. Previously Anshu used to be quite anxious of the future. However, being a mountaineer led her to face death from such close quarters that she understood what life and death was. She says that humans often forget that their life is temporary. But now as a mountaineer she is aware of what life and death isand believes in the idea of enjoying and cherishing every moment. She has learned how to positively channelise her energy in carrying herself forward.

Anshu's efforts towards cleanliness and nature

Anshu has always been conscious towards the safety of the environment. Every time she notices something dirty in a sport she goes forward to clean it. The mountaineer has also trained about 3000 school students on maintaining cleanliness in the environment. Nature has a more important role in Anshu's life than religion and humanity. She emphasises awareness on nature in most of her trainings. She has seen some of the worst faces of nature and she is aware of nature's power. She has also carried out many mass-cleaning drives in various regions. She believes in maintaining hygiene and cleanliness wherever she goes.

Expeditions after motherhood

She got married in 2000 at the age of 21. She now supports her husband in his business. Anshu was always open to the idea of new things. Thus, she carried on with her adventurous activities even after her two children were born. She also used to go to provide food to foreign expeditioners. She used to share her experiences with them and listened to their stories. This inspired them to carry out activities of rock-climbing, trekking and other such activities. .

Other activities

Apart from being a mountaineer, Anshu is also a model and actor. She acted in a feature film titled, "Crossing Bridges" which was released in 2013. The film received the National Film Award from the President of India in 2014. This exemplifies her urge to learn new things and her adventurous spirit. She expresses that she does not want to remain static in her journey and wants to experience as many new things. She was also featured in popular TV shows on Discovery Channel, NDTV, TLC, etc. She has appeared in several other national, international and regionalTVChannels.

Her biographical documentary ANSHU: Everest Calling was screened on the first day of the 12th ADDA Short Film Festival Guwahati which later made the rounds of film festivals across the nation.

Message for fellow women

According to Anshu, women stick to the idea, "I'm a woman and I won't be able to do this." She is aware of the many problems that exist in society against women. However, she says that if a woman can inculcates determination and a strong willpower she won't have to limit herself.

Expeditions

The successful expeditions of the mountaineer include Mt. Nepal Peak (23517 ft.) on 27th September, 2010, Mt. Everest (29035 ft.) on 12th May, 2011 for the first timeand on 21st May, 2011 she completed her second ascent. After that she summitted Mt. Gorichen (21286 ft.) on 9th October, 2012. She again summitted the Mt. Everest (29035 ft.) on 18th May, 2013 for the third time. She summitted ShigriParvat (21410 ft.) on 4th August, 2013, Lobuche Peak (20075 ft.) on 13th May, 2014, Pokhalde Peak (19343 ft.) on 16th May, 2014, Island Peak (20305 ft.) on 18th May, 2014, Mt Gorichen East (20413 ft.) on 18th October, 2016 and Unnamed Virgin Peak (21302 ft.) on 21st October, 2016. In 2017, she summitted Mt Everest for the fourth time on 16th May, 2017 and carried out her second ascent in the same season on 21st May, 2017.

Awards and achievements

The mountaineer has many awards to her credit. Jamsenpa was conferred the CNN-IBN Young Indian Leader Award in New Delhi on 30 June, 2011. She received the award from JyotiradityaScindia, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India). On 2 June, 2012, Jamsenpa was awarded Woman Achiever of the Year 2011-12 by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in Guwahati. On 31 January, 2017 she was conferred with Tourism Icon of the Year Award by Government of Arunachal Pradesh in a function held at I G Park Itanagar which was attended by Governor Padmanabha Acharya as Chief Guest. Jamsenpa was conferred PhD by Arunachal University of Studies for her achievements in the field of adventure sports and for making the region proud.

President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2017, India's Highest Adventure Award to Jamsenpa for Adventure at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on 25 September, 2018. She received this award for making history as the first woman and also the first mother who completed two double ascents. She is the first Indian woman to scale the Mt. Everest five times. Because of this the Government of Arunachal Pradesh suggested her name for the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2017. She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2021.

This mountaineer's journey has inspired many and continues to set an inspiring example for women across the world.

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