Aarti Prasad (centre) on one of her treks. A Telegraph picture

Jamshedpur, June 6: For most people, retirement means rest. But for some, it means rigorous exercise, fitness training and summit scaling.

Aarti Prasad (53), a homemaker and a mother, had deferred her summit scaling plans long enough. A nature lover from her younger days, she retired from her homemaker life (rather took a brief sabbatical) to scale the 12,500ft Darwa pass as part of a Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) trekkers’ group. But that was just the beginning of her trek.

Keeping her sky-high dream in mind, Prasad joined the TASF at their base camp. She initiated her trek along with 35-odd people, which include men, women and children. Aarti was the most senior member of the team. However, after reaching the pass and when everyone was ready to return, Aarti forged ahead and crossed Bhagirathi valley to Yamunotri. She then reached Hanumanchatti and Phulchatti, from where she trekked a further 10km to reach Yamunotri Temple, at a height of 11,000ft.

Even at Yamunotri she was not ready to lay her boots down. After recharging herself she reached Kedarnath, a 28km trek from the temple, to complete her journey.

Initially wary and apprehensive, Aarti is now a confident woman. “Being alone and amid nature boosts the soul. As I went ahead I started gaining confidence and at one point I had no fear. That egged me on and finally there I was,” said Prasad.

Though she makes it sound easy, it was no cakewalk. “There is a difference between seeing a glacier on television and actually walking through one. One has to keep in mind many trekking points. But if one is successful, the sense of winning is tremendous,” she acknowledges with a smile.

For her, the training started at Tumung training site with lessons in rock climbing, caving, and obstacle crossing. Aarti also trained in river rafting at Dimna and took regular brisk walking (seven rounds) around JRD Tata Sports Complex. Add to that a little help from Bachhendri Pal, who simply “refused” to let her quit at any time.

Her parting words: “Now that I have completed my trek, I am ready to chalk out further plans.”

Well, good luck if Mount Everest is next on the agenda.