(12 Jul) Jaahnavi will be attempting the rare feat of taking the traverse route of Mt Elbrus from south to north side. She wants to becom...
(12 Jul) Jaahnavi will be attempting the rare feat of taking the traverse route of Mt Elbrus from south to north side. She wants to become the youngest person in world to achieve the feat Hyderabad: While girls of her age are busy attending school, this 13-year-old from Hyderabad is all set to conquer Mount Elbrus in Russia which soars to a height of 5642 m (18510 ft).Mt Elbrus's peak is the highest in the Caucasus Mountains and in Europe too. This peak has two summits which are dormant volcanic domes. Jaahnavi S, will be attempting the rare feat of taking the traverse route of Mt Elbrus from south to north side. She wants to become the youngest person from India and youngest girl globally to take the route. "Adventure without risk is a Disney land. Fear goes only when we risk ourselves. Taking traverse route of Mt Elbrus from south to north will be most difficult one. In general, people ascend from one side and descend from the same side which is easy. But I want to begin the climb from the south and come down from north side. Thus I want to become first youngest person to do so. Though the expedition requires only basic equipment it is difficult to scale," says physically and mentally fit Jaahnavi. The girl has set a mission for herself to be the youngest girl to scale all the seven summits in the world. As part her of mission to conquer all seven summits, she already scaled Mt Kilimanjaro (5895 metres) in Africa when she was 12 years, becoming first youngest girl to reach peak from India. She wants to scale all the seven summits by the end of the 2016. In the process, she would start her expedition to Mt Elbrus from Hyderabad on July 21. As part of her mission, she would scale Mt Kosciuszko, Australia in September, Mt Aconcagua, South America in November, Mt Vinson in Antarctica, Mt Everest in April 2016 and Mt McKinley in North America. "Due to the recent quake in Nepal I had to abort my Everest expedition. Expedition in the Antarctic will be challenging one as there will be no porters to carry our equipment. We have to carry 100 kg baggage in very chilled climatic conditions," she says. Jaahnavi who is also a classical dancer and artist wants to her full-fill her father's dream. "It was my father's dream to scale all summits. Now it's my dream. I want to achieve my target possibly by end of 2016," she said. While she aims to conquer all the summits, this young girl is facing a financial crunch. "I request people to support me in some way or other to reach the target," she says. Her father Dr S Krishna Rao, who is also a mountaineer, trained Jaahnavi from a tender age, says that the expedition to Mt Elbrus requires Rs 8 lakh and they could afford only Rs 4 lakh. "Rest of the amount should be arranged by 10 days. For other expeditions more than Rs 20 lakh is needed. I request people to come forward and help my daughter," says Rao who is suffering from serious illness. Jaahnavi who started her mountaineering career as a toddler wants to strive for girl child education. "After scaling these peaks I want to raise funds for girls' education. I will educate five girls of my age. I support Prime Minister Narendra Modi Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign," she said. When asked about her academics, Jaahnavi says "I scored 'A' grade and planning to achieve 'A+'. My school Reqelford International School has extended its full support. I will be carrying books during the expedition and whenever I get time I will read," she adds.
