Hyderabad: On May 16, Anvitha Reddy reached the summit of Mt. Everest, the world’s highest, and most treacherous peak. She had braved the altitude changes, the cold, and passed by the remains of unlucky climbers who succumbed to the mountain’s unpredictability.
The Climb
Anvitha Reddy Padamati set out from Hyderabad for climbing the Mount Everest in the first week of April. On reaching Nepal she completed the formalities and began her climb from the Southern side of Mount Everest located in Nepal.
After a 9-day trek she reached Mach base camp located at an altitude of 5300 on the 17th of April 2022. In the subsequent weeks, she completed ‘Rotations’ up the mountain, to acclimatize to the low oxygen levels and reached an altitude of 7,100 meters. Anvitha Reddy started for the Mount Everest summit from the base camp on 12th May 2022.
After going through four camps at different altitudes, she along with her Sherpa guide started from Camp-4 on 15th May 2022 night. She had her dream come true by reaching the Mt Everest summit (8848.86mtr) on 16th May 2022 at 9.30 AM.
“I turned ecstatic on reaching the top of the world, a moment I aspired for the last eight years had come true. It was this moment which kept me going despite enormous challenges including convincing my parents who were averse to the adventure sport, financial limitations, and more,” shared Anvitha.
She has a lot to be grateful for
“It was Atchuta Rao Bopanna, Managing Director of Anvita group, who came forward and relieved me of my financial concerns, that enabled me to concentrate on my ambition,” she said.
Anvitha’s coach, Shekhar Babu, is a distinguished mountaineer awarded the ‘Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award’ by the President of India.
“I am immensely grateful to Shri Atchuta Rao Bopanna for his kind gesture and to my coach and mentor Shekhar Babu Bachinepally for the grooming,” she added.
“I was educated about the Everest trekking by my coach Shekar sir even before I set out for that. That made me aware of how to go about while trekking on Everest, how to cope with different situations we encounter and how I should be mentally strong to reach the summit.”
This coaching helped her keep her composure when she saw the remains of two trekkers who had been unsuccessful in their quest to the summit. “It was the saddest part- having to pass by two dead bodies. though I wasn’t frightened but felt sad that they couldn’t go back home like me to celebrate the achievement with their families.”
Anvitha shared that her coach had unwavering confidence in her abilities. “He was confident from the go about my ability to reach the top of the world. Khumbu icefall is the toughest and the most dangerous stretch of trekking, but I was prepared to trek through it safely. My trek in -40 degrees weather conditions on Mt Elbrus gave me the confidence to trek on Everest.”
How it started
A 24-year-old MBA Graduate, Anvitha Reddy hails from a humble middle-class family in Bhongir. Her father Madhusudhan Reddy is an agriculturist and her mother Chandrakala Padamati works at an Anganwadi school in Bhongir.
Though she got interested in rock climbing at the young age of 17 years, she had to take a break from mountaineering for four years to complete her formal education at her parents’ insistence.
Anvitha began her journey of mountaineering in 2014 at Bhongir rock climbing school. That terrain helped her train and climb all the mountains to date. Anvita Group’s Atchuta Rao approached her after her Elbrus summit and assured her to sponsor all her treks thereafter. “The Everest expedition was expensive but without hesitation Anvita Group sponsored it,” she said.
“Anvitha’s unstinted commitment and single-minded dedication are what made us spot a champion in her. We at Anvita Group wanted her to focus on her goal unhindered and did our bit for her to achieve it. Anvita Group will continue to support her to summit different peaks in all the continents in the future too,” says Atchuta Rao Bopanna, Managing Director, Anvita group.
And the rest is history
She went on to achieve several laurels including climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest peak of African continent in January 2021; Mount Khadey, the Indian Himalayas – Tso-Moriri, Ladak, in February 2021. She made her summit on Mt Elbrus, the highest peak of the Europe continent in December 2021. She is the only Indian to achieve this rare feat of climbing Mt Elbrus in winter.
Anvitha has received several accolades and appreciation for her accomplishments and the most memorable for her is the President of the Russian Mountaineering Federation, Abdulkhalim Elmezov complimenting her for being the first Indian to climb Mt Elbrus in winter in biting cold.
