You can take the girl out of the mountains, but you can't take the mountains out of the girl.

So what if nature and destiny connived to scuttle Chandana Pradhan's Mount Everest plans earlier this year, the gutsy 20-year-old is now gearing up for tricky glacial treks in Greenland and South America next month.

A native of Batabera village in Seraikela-Kharsawan district, Chandana is currently participating in a fitness camp in Hyderabad for the East Greenland Mountaineering Expedition: First Ascents Trip and Mount Aconcagua climb.

For her twin expeditions, the sprightly climber is being sponsored by Greenland-based businessman and mountaineering pro Charles Master. Chandana and Charles were together in this year's Everest challenge, which had to be abandoned because of the killer earthquake in Nepal in April.

"I don't belong to an affluent family. My father, Bhangu Pradhan, is a rice trader. I am the eldest among three siblings. My sister and brother are still students. So, money matters. No sponsor seemed willing to fund my trip to Greenland and Aconcagua, which is in the Andes range. That is when Charles Sir, whom I had met in Nepal, agreed to help me," Chandana told The Telegraph over phone from Hyderabad.

"We had climbed together till Camp 2 (of Everest), but could not go up further after the Nepal quake. I am extremely grateful to him," she added.

Greenland - a massive island and autonomous Danish territory between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans - is about 80 per cent covered in ice while Mt Aconcagua is the tallest peak in the southern and western hemispheres at 22,837ft.

"The expedition to Greenland will be exploratory in nature. The team will travel into the trekking area by boat and then scale on foot. The itinerary is still tentative, but will be finalised once we assemble for training in Greenland. We shall leave for Aconcagua after our stint in Greenland," Chandana said, adding that she was the only woman on the team. "The three men are from the UK."

The twin expeditions combine abundant learning opportunities with practical skills on high-altitude peaks. They involve snow and ice climbing and glacier trek.

Shedding light on the training scheduled in the Arctic region, Chandana said they would learn about the uses of an ice axe, how to rescue co-climbers from crevasses, about rope management and navigation using maps and compasses among other things. Once the training is completed, the team will ascend the two glaciated peaks.

An accomplished mountaineer, Chandana completed her basic training with grade 'A' from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Allied Sports in Manali last year. This year, she finished the advanced course from the same cradle.

So far, the mountain maiden has successfully annexed Mount Baruntse (23,000ft) and Mera Peak (23,490ft) in Nepal. She was also part of Tata Steel Adventure Foundation's outdoor leadership programme in Uttarkashi last year.