Mountaineer Deeya gearing up for Denali challenge once again

Determined to fulfil her dream of scaling seven summits, Indian mountaineer Deeya Bajaj plans to set off for Mount Denali for a second try in May next year.

Deeya was all set to achieve her dream in May last year but just three hours away from the peak, she had to return from Mount Denali due to bad weather.

Deeya and her Padma Shri awardee father Ajeet Bajaj had spent 17 days acclimatising and carrying loads up on Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America.

It was disappointing to give up but Deeya took it in her stride as she knows well that one cannot fight nature.

"You can't be better than nature. You have to respect nature, sometimes you might need to turn back," said the 25-year-old during an interview with PTI on the sidelines of an event organised by Sukarya, a women-centric NGO.

The Gurgaon-based Deeya, however, is not disheartened and has already started her preparation to complete the challenge in next May.

"We are planning to climb Denali in May next year. We have already booked it and we will be leaving on May 24 from the base camp. We leave India on May 21st," said Deeya, excitement palpable in her voice.

Deeya and Ajeet became the first Indian daughter-father duo to climb Mount Everest last year and scaling Mount Denali would have made them the first such pair to conquer all seven highest mountains of each of the seven continents.

"We attempted Denali in May this year but unfortunately we couldn't make it to the top because of bad weather. We had to turn three hours before the summit after being on the expedition for 17 days," said Deeya.

"It was getting worse and the descent would have been extremely dangerous."
"Then Dad said let's do Denali (North America), but Dad had already climbed Mount Aconcagua (Argentina), so I quickly did Aconcagua so that we both can complete the seven summits together but unfortunately we couldn't scale Denali."
"We faced a big storm while climbing from one camp to a higher camp. At 7000m, the force of nature is frightening. I felt like a tiny insignificant ant at the mountain. There were stiff narrow paths which you have to navigate. So it was terrifying."
"You need to do proper research before going for any adventure. You need to have the skills and equipment. It is only risky when you are not prepared."
So what is the reason behind her obsession for mountains and adventure sports?