Scammed at one of world’s highest mountains – Baljeet Kaur on her nightmarish expedition

Baljeet Kaur | Photo courtesy: Baljeet Kaur

Kaur, the prominent Indian mountaineer from Himachal Pradesh, recently scripted history after she became the only Indian mountaineer to scale four 8000-metre peaks in less than a month. But her recent expedition to Mount Annapurna was nothing less than a nightmare.

Indian mountaineer Baljeet Kaur speaks to The Probe’s Pavitra Utgikar about her nightmarish expedition to Annapurna mountain, one of the highest mountains in the world.

Baljeet Kaur was found alive on April 18, after she went missing near camp IV of Mt Annapurna while descending from the summit point. “They thought I was dead and out. But somehow, I managed to finish my expedition.” An aerial rescue team had located Kaur, struggling to descend the mountain without supplemental oxygen.

What followed was an arduous and nerve-racking journey for Baljeet. “Another Sherpa came later to help me, but I was so exhausted by then. My mind was manipulating me. When I reached the summit point, I started seeing people who didn’t exist. I saw oxygen plants. I slapped myself multiple times, started motivating myself, and somehow mustered the courage to move forward,” reminisces Baljeet.

Named after the Hindu goddess of food and nourishment, Annapurna is the world’s tenth-highest mountain and tops the list of the world’s deadliest peaks. As of 2022, 365 people had reached the summit of Mt Annapurna, while 72 had died attempting to climb it. Last month, Irish climber Noel Hanna, who had climbed Mt Everest 10 times, died during the Annapurna expedition. Indian mountaineer Anurag Maloo, a resident of Rajasthan who went missing in mid-April after falling from around 6000 metres while descending Camp III in Mt Annapurna, was found alive, rescued and brought back to Delhi recently.