Hooghly (West Bengal): Chandannagar’s Piyali Basak, 31, claimed to have achieved a record feat by becoming the first Indian to climb Mount Everest without the help of an oxygen cylinder. Piyali achieved the feat at 8.30 am on May 22. Piyali had been preparing to scale Mt Everest for quite a long time. She had conquered Dhaulagiri, the seventh highest peak in the world, also without an oxygen cylinder, as a run-up to climbing the world's highest peak Mt Everest, said sources.
Although, Piyali’s path to conquering the world's highest peak wasn’t an easy task. A few days ago, she had posted a video message from the base camp about her dreams of conquering the highest peak. She had then conveyed a message from the base camp that she was not able to collect the Rs 12 lakh required for the expedition. The total cost of scaling these two peaks was Rs 35 lakh. Out of which, Rs 12 lakh was set aside to be deposited with the agency concerned, to proceed. Overcoming financial difficulties, this Bengal girl achieved a rare feat and scripted a history.
Read: IIT Delhi alumnus scales Mt Everest within seven weeks of recovering from COVID-19
