Two women from Northeast India summit Mount Everest

Two women from the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India stole the limelight in the arena of adventure sports (mountaineering) by conquering Mount Everest this year.

First it was Tine Mena of Malinye village of Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh who achieved the rare feat of becoming the first lady climber from Northeast to scale Mount Everest on May 9.

Tine's feat was equaled not once but twice by another Arunachalee woman and a mother of two children Anshu Jamsenpa, 32, from Bomdila. It was a refreshing bit of news that said Anshu Jamsenpa made it to the Mount Everest not once by two times within a span of just ten days – May 12 and May 21 this year. The rare feat of being the first mother in the world to conquer Mount Everest twice within ten days made Anshu Jamsenpa an instant celebrity. 

Mena is the eldest daughter of Buge Mena of Malinye village of Dibang Valley district. She had to discontinue her school education after 8th standard due to abject poverty. After achieving the rare feat she had said, "I had to work as a porter and do track cutting work during my training period in Manipur to meet my daily expenditure, as my father was not able to bear all my expenses." 

"The aspiration to summit the highest peak of the world took root in my heart last year after I had successfully climbed Nepal Peak (22,000 ft) in Sikkim Himalayas in November 2010, while participating in the North East Pre-Everest Expedition organised by the Manipur Mountaineering and Tracking Association," Anshu Jamsenpa said.