Mumbai : Even before they scaled the tallest peak in the world, they were known as the ‘Everest Sisters’. And it is only fitting that the two – Nungshi and Tashi Malik – conquered the peak despite all odds. The two sisters conquered Mount Everest on May 20, 2013, after having conquered five of the highest peaks across five continents. Their aim is to cover the highest peaks across all the seven continents.
Says Tashi, “In spite of all the difficulties we had to face to reach to the peak of Mount Everest, it was all worth it as the sight from the top compares to nothing you have ever seen or felt before.” The duo were in Mumbai on Friday to address the students of Oberoi International School (OIS) and narrate their experiences which are awe-inspiring.
“As we climbed higher, the oxygen levels dropped and taking even a single step was turning out to be a Herculean task, we were almost there, we were nearing the tip of the peak, when my sister’s oxygen regulator stopped working. It was then that the thought crossed our minds that we wouldn’t actually be able to make it till the end,” said Tashi, narrating one of roughest times they had to face while climbing Everest.
As luck would have it, one of their fellow mountaineers was returning to the base camp and offered his oxygen cylinder to Nungshi, which enabled them to go ahead with their expedition.
The 23-year-olds hail from a defence background. Their father Col (retd) Virendra Singh Malik is from Haryana and their mother is a Gorkha from Dehradun. The twins owe their success in their adventures to their parents’ undying support. It was their father who suggested that they go for a basic mountaineering course in Uttarkashi, right after they finished their 12th standard. “Since my father had already broken the barriers while entering into an inter-caste marriage, coming from Haryana, thinking out of the box was not difficult for him,” said Nungshi.
The twins came to be known as The Everest Sisters, at their training camps, even before they set out on their journey because of their unmatched physical fitness. They trained for three years before they set out on their 50-day-long tireless expedition to conquer the highest peak in world. “We ran 15-20 kilometers a day. We ate, slept and dreamt Everest. We were so physically fit that we were able to carry the same amount of baggage as our fellow male climbers with ease,” said, Tashi.
When addressing young minds at OIS, their passion and commitment for the cause was not only evident but also infectious as the students could barely wait till the end of their presentation to bombard them with questions to satisfy their young, curious minds.
Adele Macdonald
