The Malavath Poorna, best known to the world as the ‘Youngest Girl in the World to Summit Mt.Everest’ was just 13 years when she conquered the world’s highest peak. Now at 18, she has stood on top of ‘Carstensz Pyramid’ which stands at 4884m.Poorna is currently pursuing her under graduation in the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) for Women, in Tadwai, Kamareddy. Poorna is inspired by Dr.R.S. Praveen Kumar I.P.S., the Secretary of TSWREIS who has been spearheading the educational reforms in the state of Telangana. Carstensz Pyramid is the tallest mountain in the ‘Oceania Region’ which includes countries like Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Fiji, etc. Carstensz Pyramid is considered to be one of the 7-Summits of the World. By definition, the ‘7-Seven Summits’ are the 7 tallest mountains, one in each of the 7-Continents. Completing the ‘7-summits’ is a challenge undertaken by many mountaineers around the world. And Poorna is just 2 peaks away from achieving her goal.
By successfully summiting Carstensz Pyramid, Poorna has achieved 5th peak of her 7 targeted summits. Prior to this, she scaled.
• Mt.Everest in 2014, becoming the youngest girl in the world to do so.
• Mt.Kilimanjaro in 2016
• Mt.Elbrus in 2017
• Mt.Aconcagua in January 2019.
Carstensz Pyramid has a different set of challenges, when compared to the Himalayan and other Ice-Capped peaks. The peak is located in the dense jungles of Indonesia and getting to the base camp is a big challenge. Once you reach the base camp, the climb itself involves a lot of rock climbing skills to be able to get to the summit.
In order to train for this, Poorna took to her alma mater: Rock Climbing School, Bhongir (RCSB). This is the same place where she took her very first steps in climbing, which was also showcased in the her biopic directed by Rahul Bose, ‘Poorna’. Under the able guidance of Mr.Parmesh Kumar Singh, the Chief Instructor of the RCSB, she trained specifically in the techniques that would be required in not only climbing, but also descending from this peak in Indonesia.
After her intense training and preparation for the climb, Poorna left Hyderabad on the 17th of March, 2019 to Indonesia. The entire planning, preparation and execution of the logistics for this expedition was done by Hyderabad based Transcend Adventures. Incidentally, this company has been behind all the expeditions that Poorna has done so far. Speaking through the satellite phone, Poorna has informed us, “It was a very satisfying climb. I could not have done this without my experience in rock climbing and the sessions that I have had in Rock Climbing School at Bhongir. It was very windy but I had maintained my composure throughout. I reached the summit in the early hours of 22-March-2019. My entire team and I had a safe summit and have now descended back to the base camp. We will reach Hyderabad on 27th March.”
Mr. Shekhar Babu, the mountaineering mentor of Poorna and a National Awardee in Mountaineering says, “it’s a very jubilant moment for all of us. The girl has put in a lot of hard work especially for this expedition as it involved a lot of technical aspects of climbing. With this achievement, only 2 more peaks from the continents of North America and Antarctica remain for her to finish her 7-Summits Challenge. As always, we will always be supportive for her”.
Dr. R.S. Praveen Kumar, taking note of the expedition says “it is indeed a great achievement for Poorna. We always believed that she always had the spark within and no mountain is too high for her. She continues to push her limits and is a prime example of how one can channel their energies to overcome the greatest of challenges. In her case, it is the mountains. Rock Climbing School, Bhongir has been very instrumental in shaping her climbing career giving her the best of training and equipment, locally. I congratulate her on the success of the Carstensz Pyramid expedition and hope she continues to be successful in her future expeditions.”
