Mountaineer Bisht conquers another peak

Prof Harshwanti Bisht, who has conquered Nanda Devi and Mount Everest, has become the first woman to be elected president of Indian Mountaineering Foundation.

Bisht won the elections of Indian Mountaineering Foundation yesterday, polling 70 of the 107 votes cast. The foundation is involved in activities related to mountaineering and allied adventure sports in the country.

Bisht is an avid mountaineer, is among the first three women to conquer Nanda Devi. Later, in 1984 she scaled Mount Everest.

She is the recipient of Edmund Hillary Award and Arjuna Award, among other recognitions. After completing her Masters in economics, she joined the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi. At this this institute she did a course in mountaineering in 1975 and six years later, she conquered Nanda Devi.

He was inspired by the Edmund Hillary’s work, not just as a mountaineer, but also in conserving mountains. In 1984, she founded Save Gangotri Project to safeguard the region around the source of Ganga.

In 1991, she started a campaign to preserve Bhojpatra trees, a species native to the Himalayas, and planted thousands of saplings in the Gangotri national park region.