Standing tall: Arunima with Bachendri Pal

From this date onwards, Arunima Sinha will need no introduction.

At 10.55am on Tuesday, the 26-year-old braveheart from Lucknow scaled a staggering 29,029ft to become India’s first amputee climber atop Mount Everest. Her summit companions were sherpas Nima Kancha and Pemba Tshering.

Under the aegis of Asian Trekking Agency — the organisers of Eco Everest Diamond Jubilee Expedition 2013 — the team had taken up the South Col challenge from Camp 4 (26,000ft) on the Nepal side late on Monday evening.

South Col usually refers to the sharp-edged notch between Everest and Lhotse, the highest and fourth highest mountains in the world.

“The weather was good and Arunima had little difficulty annexing the iconic peak,” said Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) secretary P.P. Kapadia in Jamshedpur.

Earlier, on Sunday morning, fellow climber and senior TSAF instructor Susen Mahto had conquered the Everest. Both Arunima and Susen’s expedition with the Kathmandu-based agency is being sponsored by Tata Steel.

Dawa Steven Sherpa who has conquered the colossus twice led the 20-member multinational trekking team. Besides Arunima, the Indian contingent comprised Kanta Devi, Love Raj Dharmshaktu and Ramlal.

It took the young Indian woman, who lost her leg when she was thrown off a train in 2011, 52 days to reach the Everest summit. And her stupendous achievement came after a daring overnight trek.

“We at Tata Steel salute Arunima's courage, determination and dedication. Her achievement is very special. The youth should feel inspired by both Arunima and Susen. They have made history. Their extraordinary achievements have come in the face of adversities,” said Sunil Bhaskaran, the deputy vice-president (corporate services) of Tata Steel.

An ecstatic Om Prakash Sinha, Arunima’s elder brother, dubbed Tuesday, May 21, 2013, the happiest day of his life.

“I always knew she would make it. We (mother Gyanbala, brother Rahul and sister Lakshmi) are over the moon. We are celebrating today,” Om, who was in Uttarkashi during Arunima’s training last year, told The Telegraph over phone from Lucknow. He added she was expected to reach the base camp on May 23-24.

Recalling her difficult past, family sources said that while Arunima trained under her mentor and legendary climber Bachendri Pal, she sustained blisters on her knee and was in acute pain. Blood oozed from her injury whenever she tried wearing her prosthetic limb.

But, Arunima was one who wouldn’t give up. She started her expedition in April and left the Everest base camp on May 15 after the weather window cleared. And the rest is history.

Jharkhand and TSAF have churned out many an Everest conqueror. Among the homegrown heroes is homemaker Premlata Agarwal, who became the oldest Indian woman to achieve the feat in 2011. Rajendra Pal Singh, Binita Soren and Meghlal Mahto made it to the summit a year later.

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