– Shivani Chaturvedi (Chennai)

A class XII student of Chennai’s Cambridge (UK) and NIOS-affiliated APL Global School, Nisha Sasikumar etched her name in history by becoming the youngest female worldwide to scale Mt. Everest at 16 years 80 days of age. On May 25, she accomplished this 18-hour gruelling trek from the challenging Nepal (South Col) side breaking Mumbai teen Kaamya Karthikeyan’s record by 190 days.

Scaling new heights is Nisha’s passion. Thus far, she has ascended Europe’s Mt. Elbrus (5,642 m), Africa’s highest Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,895 m); Australia’s Mt. Kosciuszko (2,228 m), Indonesia’s Carstensz Pyramid (4,484 m) and South America’s Mt. Aconcagua (6,962 m).

Born into an adventure sports-loving family of Sasikumar Gendham, an avid trekker and president of ELCINA (Electronic Industries Association of India), and mother Aruna, a microbiologist, Nisha developed interest in mountaineering and endurance sports listening to her father recount his Himalayan treks. “Given my introduction to outdoor activities in early age, I always longed to join my father on his treks. When I turned 14, he took me on a series of weekend expeditions. That year, I successfully scaled Europe’s Mt. Elbrus. Today my father is my biggest supporter and climbing partner while my mother is a silent pillar of strength,” says this teenage mountaineer.

Although mountaineering is her passion, Nisha balances it with academics. “Careful time management and support from my school help me remain abreast academically,” says Nisha. However, she has misgivings about the burden her extra-curricular passion has imposed upon her loving parents. “My recent Mt. Everest expedition cost around Rs.75 lakh, which was entirely funded by my supportive parents. I would be delighted to receive some corporate sponsorships,” she says wistfully.

Nisha is now bent on completing an ambitious Seven Summits Challenge mission. “I have drawn up a plan to scale Antarctica’s Mt. Vinson (4,892 m) in November this year, followed by the planned ascent of North America’s Mt. Denali (6,190 m) in May 2027,” she says.

Go Girl!