On Top of the World: Teen mountaineer Kaamya Karthikeyan becomes youngest to conquer Everest, sets sights on Antarctica

(May 28, 2024) On May 19, when Kaamya Karthikeyan and her father, an Indian Navy Commander S Karthikeyan were hours away from Camp 4 in Mount Everest, at an elevation of 7,950 metres (26,085 feet) — they were greeted by extremely heavy winds, laden with small pieces of snow which cut through their skin. It fogged up their glasses, making it difficult to walk through what was already a precarious route. Braving it all, the 16-year-old and her father reached Camp 4. As the night approached, the ferocity of winds increased drastically as they set their sights on the summit. Several hours later, both were on top of the world — against all odds.

“At Camp 4, we were extremely nervous as our oxygen supplies were limited and we could not afford to spend another night there (due to the worsening weather). Thankfully, the weather cleared up slightly early morning and we were finally able to leave for the summit,” smiles Kaamya Karthikeyan, the second youngest girl in the world and the youngest Indian mountaineer to summit the world’s highest peak from the Nepal side. She accomplished the mission on May 20.

Speaking exclusively to Global Indian from Kathmandu, hours after descending from Mount Everest, Kaamya says she was extremely excited and somewhat in disbelief after reaching the summit. “Thankfully, I was still feeling strong and was able to converse clearly. Being able to talk to my mom from the summit was definitely an amazing experience,” says Kaamya, class XII student of Navy Children School, Mumbai.

Sitting in Mumbai, her mother Lavanya Karthikeyan was both excited and relieved after having a brief conversation with her daughter and husband over satellite phone.

The father-daughter duo left for the summit at 3 am from Camp 4. “We reached Camp 4 around 1:30 pm on May 19 and we were supposed to leave for the summit around 9:30 that night. But bad weather played  spoilsport. Once it improved slightly, we left at 3 am,” she informs.

Just 24 hours after Kaamya achieved the feat, a British climber and his guide, who too summitted Everest went missing during descent and have not been found since.

Prepping up for Everest

Kaamya says the physical preparation for summitting Mount Everest was very strenuous. “ we would go on long runs or cycling thrice a week. On other days, we climbed the stairs of our 21 floor building 10-15 times with a bagpack!,” informs the mountaineer.

Other than that, Kaamya had also been reading a lot about the expedition and details of the climb to mentally prepare herself for the long expedition.

Mt Vinson Massif next 

Having conquered Mount Everest, Kaamya has now set her sights on Mt Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica. “I will be leaving for Antarctica in December this year,” she informs adding that she intends to climb many more peaks in the Himalayas in the near future.

Kaamya Karthikeyan at the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro

Under the umbrella of Mission SAHAS, Kaamya had previously climbed the highest peaks of Africa (Mt Kilimanjaro), Europe (Mt Elbrus – where she set the world record for being the world’s youngest to ski descent from the peak), Australia (Mt Kosciuszko) and South America (Mt Aconcagua). “I also climbed Mt Mentok Kangri in Leh in 2019, summitting my second 6,000 metres plus peak as a practice climb prior to climbing Aconcagua,” says Kaamya, who is an avid runner, cyclist, skier and scuba diver.

Mt Aconcagua

As a 12-year old, Kaamya had scaled Mount Aconcagua, the highest mountain peak of Andes mountains. In early 2020, she travelled halfway around the world to reach Mendonza in Argentina — the base town for Mount Aconcagua.

Accompanied by her father, the mountaineer was to obtain a special permit from the Aconcagua National Park to scale the highest mountain peak of the Andes mountains. Yet, within hours of her arrival, she was confronted by a mountain of challenges, not just the permit. As a minor, the authorities wanted a resolution from the court.

“Will a 12-year-old be able to climb this mountain peak?” the court enquired, ordering a series of medical tests. Stranded for 14 days, experiencing red-tapism on foreign soil, finally luck favoured Kaamya. The judge went on leave, was replaced, and he fortuitously was a mountaineer himself! He swiftly went through Kaamya’s credentials and granted her a permit. Overcoming all challenges, Kaamya made India proud by becoming the youngest in the world to summit Mt Aconcagua.

Conquering Aconcagua brought laurels her way – The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar for her remarkable feat, and she was the first to virtually interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2020. “I was elated. The PM advised me to treat this award as a stepping stone for future accomplishments and not as an achievement by itself,” says the teenager, who actively participated in debating. She is also the first runner-up at Mindwars — a debating TV championship.

Trekking Himalayas at seven

Born in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) in August 2007, Kaamya was barely three when she started accompanying her parents on trails in Lonavala, where her father Navy commander S Karthikeyan was posted. By seven, she was trekking the Himalayas.

Her first expedition above 6,000 meters to Mount Stok Kangri in August 2017 made her the youngest girl in the world to have scaled a peak at those dizzy heights. “Scaling this peak three days short of my 10th birthday was special. I had been to the base in 2012 when my dad was climbing it, and had wondered when I would climb it too. There I was, after five years,” says Kaamya, then 14.

Her father had completed his mountaineering courses and was training in and around Lonavala. Both Kaamya and her mother would accompany him on easy trails, and that is where her love for the wild was cemented.

First trek 

Once her father started leading expeditions, his daughter wondered why mountains attracted her father so much to leave the family for days on end. She asked her mother, and “she told me to find out first-hand. So I did my first Himalayan trek in Uttarakhand,” says Kaamya, whose mother Lavanya Karthikeyan heads a Kindergarten school.

She explored beautiful treks across Chandrashila, Kedarkantha, Roopkund, Brighu Lake, Har-ki-dun and Sar Pass.

Kaamya Karthekiyan with her parents at Mt Stok Kangri

In May 2017, she trekked to the Everest base camp. After climbing Stok Kangri, the Indian girl mountaineer asked her father what next. He questioned whether she even realises that she had climbed a peak higher than the highest peaks in five of the seven continents!

Training

Training for expeditions is tough. Kaamya would run over 10 km or cycle for 20-25 km four days a week. On other days, she would do indoor exercises or climb stairs at her 21-storeyed apartment complex in Mumbai (helped train her muscles). And on weekends, a trek on the Sahyadri mountains helped with balance training.

Gulmarg has been her winter training ground for the past six years. “In early 2021, I had the opportunity to train with the Army’s High Altitude Warfare School where I practiced techniques like walking with trekking shoes, skis and sledge pulling,” informs the hardworking girl who has also participated in the junior national skiing and snowboarding championship in Gulmarg.

In the tough terrain of Arunachal Pradesh, she also did a basic mountaineering course from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports. The future is bright, and peaking Kaamya’s schedule is packed in 2022-2023. “I hope to climb Mt Denali (the highest peak in North America) and ski to the South Pole.”

Meeting a legend

Before her expedition to Mt Elbrus, she had the opportunity to meet legendary naval mountaineer Captain MS Kohli, the leader of the first successful Indian expedition to Everest in 1965. “He told me whenever I felt tired on a mountain, I should always look back instead of looking ahead — advice that has greatly helped me,” says Kaamya who is also learning Bharatnatyan, and is a grade 2 and grade 5 pass piano player (Trinity College of Music). “I enjoy the journey, not just the destination. I love being in nature’s lap and pushing myself. I like the competition within – it keeps me going,” says the girl whose mother was her trekking-partner early on, and now with climbs getting tougher, treks with her father. She thanks her school for being supportive too.

Dangers

Mountain climbing has its own perils, and Kaamya recalls an avalanche hit her group during her recent expedition on Mt Trishul in October 2021. “Sadly, we lost a few close friends but thankfully we returned safe. It has made me more respectful of the mountains, and more determined. Mission SAHAS is my way of paying tribute to the lost souls,” says Kaamya, who loves reading adventure/crime thrillers, the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton, and Agathe Christie.

Her idea of a birthday celebration is to take her friends for a hike! “The path to the summit is not easy. But if I can do it, so can you,” smiles the mountaineer who always carries a small idol of Lord Krishna, and always bring down something special from each expedition as a souvenir.

• Follow Kaamya Karthikeyan on Instagram.