Vigour, zeal and consistency. These are just some of the traits Natasha Mahar, a mountaineer from Himachal’s Solan, has been able to shadow over the years.
Tireless endurance in the sport bore fruit when she set a Guinness world record for having hoisted a 151m flag on the Yunam Peak (6111 m) in the year 2021.
For someone who started mountaineering at a tender age of 18, when she climbed Himachal Pradesh’s Jorkanden Peak (6472 m), her journey is a testimony of breaking barriers in a sport that has been otherwise considered as a male’s sport, further restating that the historical dubbing of women as a weaker gender has been untrue.
Mahar says that spending her childhood in the Himalaya and exploring the beauty of snow-capped mountains helped her embark on her journey as a mountaineer.
“Climbing mountains is an experience that is hard to put into words. I truly feel like climbing mountains has always made me feel home, that it is where I belong. It is not about showing the world about everything that I have achieved, it’s about the completeness I feel both emotionally and mentally”, Mahar tells Ministry Of Himalaya.
Mount Ladakhi(5345m), Mount Deo Tibba (6001m), Mount Yunam (6111m), Mount Kinnaur Kailash (6050m), Beas Kund, Hampta Pass, Chanerkhani Pass, are just some of Mahar’s expeditions.
Proving to her family and friends that she could go out and sustain in the profession was certainly her claim to fame and she hasn’t looked back ever since.
“I am grateful to my family, my friends and my instructors who have helped me pave a way towards my achievements”, says Mahar to Ministry Of Himalaya.
Mahar lost her father recently in June 2022. While this came as a huge loss to the family, Mahar says that she is all set to climb the Papsura peak (6,451m) in September, 2022, as a tribute to her father’s contribution in her life.