(From left) Rupali Mandal, Beauty Alda and Lalmati Biruly at JRD Tata Sports Complex on Monday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, June 7: They went. They trained. And they conquered — not just treacherous terrain and great heights, but fear and inhibitions that keep most tribal girls of Kolhan fettered for a lifetime.

Lalmati Biruly, Beauty Alda and Rupali Mandal — all ardent fans of ace climber Bachendri Pal — have recently joined an elite league of predecessors who cleared the tough basic course in mountaineering from a premier Darjeeling cradle.

Lalmati, Beauty and Rupali — who trained at Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) from May 9 to June 5 — today returned to Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) to thank officials for sponsoring their enriching trip.

Narrating her experiences in Darjeeling, 20-year-old Chaibasa girl Lalmati said the rough lessons had made them tough and confident. “I was anxious about how things would unfold because I had been told it was a very tough exercise. But then, difficulties make you strong,” the Class XII student of a Tatanagar school said.

Lalmati admitted that she learnt the tricks of scaling heights by watching her fellow climbers in action. “I have gained confidence and will be able to go on expeditions without feeling jittery,” said Lalmati, who along with Beauty and Rupali, was part of TSAF’s outdoor development programme in the Garhwal Himalayas.

P.P. Kapadia, the secretary of TSAF, said 27 among 35 girls from across the country had cleared the HMI basic training. “The exercise is aimed at teaching the fundamentals of mountaineering. It includes rock climbing, long-distance trek with load, ice-crafting, snow wall climbing and other drills,” he said, adding that nine tribal girls from the state had so far cleared advance and basic mountaineering courses.

Four of these girls, including Rupali, are from East Singhbhum, three hail from Seraikela-Kharsawan and two — Beauty and Lalmati — are natives of West Singhbhum. Last month, Binita Soren of Seraikela-Kharsawan had became the only tribal girl from Jharkhand to qualify the advanced course in mountaineering.

Twenty-two-year-old Beauty, who is also pursuing her graduation, said she was glad over what she had achieved so far. “The course was a baby step though. I am keen on attempting the advanced course. Success has made me confident. I am ready to face greater challenges in life,” she said.

Rupali, also 22 and a resident of Hata, took time off from her postgraduation studies to join Lalmati and Beauty. “I was always keen and when I heard the others were in, I could not resist my adrenalin rush. I immediately registered as a candidate. And now, I am looking forward to the advanced course,” she said.