One peak left for Premlata to conquer 7 Summits

Premlata, 47 years old and a mother of two, has scaled the Mt Vinson (4897 m) on January five without being able to acclimatise with the freezing weather.

She reached Antarctica, one of the coldest places on earth, on December 29 and "I was not allowed time for acclimatisation because of apprehension that the weather may turn bad," Premlata said here today.

Braving the freezing cold, the woman from Jharkhand started for high camp on January one and climbed the peak four days later, said the chief of the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation, who returned to the city yesterday.

Premlata has scaled six summits -- Mt. Everest (8848m, Nepal, Asia), Mt Elbrus (5642m, Russia, Europe), Mt Kilimanjaro (5895m, Tanzania, Africa), Mt Vinson (4897m, Antarctica), Mt Aconcagua (6962m, Argentina, South America) and Mt Carstensz Pyramid (4884m, Australia) and only one peak is left to conquer the 7 Summits.

She has in her focus on the Mt McKinley (6196m, USA, North America) which she would target to achieve in the middle of this year, she said.

She would become the first Indian woman and one of the oldest women in the world to conquer the 7 Summits, if she succeeded in climbing Mt McKinley, which she had narrowly missed last year because of rough weather.

Premlata had taken up the adventure sports in 2000 and climbed the Mt Everest in May 20, 2011.