KAMAL KAUR – ON TOP OF THE WORLD!!!
Over nine years of being into the adventure sports industry and she still stands tall as a female mountaineer who has reported monumental victories by keeping the limitations in her journey at bay and has not allowed her to become a victim of any of her fears and the run of the mill societal pressures.
MOUNTAINEER KAMAL KAUR
An accidental love for mountains, starting with the three peaks 24-hour challenge in UK to raise funds for charity, first successful major summit to Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa followed by four other highest continental points in the world namely Aconcagua in South America, Mount Meru in Africa, Elbrus in Russia and Denali in North America; Machu Picchu and Mount Misti in South America, Cho Oyu in Tibet and Ama Dablam in Nepal as some of the ten few high altitude mountains across the globe to Mount Everest as the biggest and most challenging forthcoming summit, Kamal Kaur a.k.a ‘The Kam Lady’ has many accolades to her credit. In a candid conversation with Trisha Mahajan, she shares her experience scaling heights.
Adventure sports have given Kaur the freedom to show her inherent talent and excel in every sphere. Ask the lady mountaineer her love for mountaineering and she shared, “Mountaineering is my life. It releases the fearless strong woman within, reconnects me with my soul and allows me to become one with the universe.”
ADMIRATION FOR MOUNTAINEERING PERSONALITY
Lydia Bradey
Kaur never knew that mountaineering would become part of her life and eventually her career. Her mountain climbing tale dates back to the time when the modest ‘Three peaks 24-hour challenge’ came her way and she undertook it to raise funds for the charity. Kaur shared, “The ‘Three peaks 24-hour challenge’ involved summiting the three highest peaks namely Mount Snowdon in Wales, Ben Nevis in Scotland and Scafell Pike in the UK within 24 hours.” Thereafter, Kam undertook her first successful major summit, ascending to the top of Kilimanjaro with a group of fire-fighters. Ever since then, there has been no looking back for her.
It takes conviction to be at heights which are beyond any ordinary human being’s imagination. But for Kaur, three are five key strategies that she apply when scaling great heights. “Listen, be prepared, if you feel unwell know when to stop, plan and always let someone know where you are off to”, mentioned the fearless mountaineer. She further added, “Dedication will get you to your destination in life. Sincerity and sacrifice will follow next. Not everyone’s ultimate goal is to climb a mountain or to push oneself to the point of extreme physical activities but there are lots of ways to attain what you desire.” She has also undertaken various winter mountaineering skill courses in France.
Kaur has become the name to reckon with for she has already scaled five out of seven highest continental points in the world namely Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Aconcagua in South America, Mount Meru in Africa, Elbrus in Russia and Denali in North America. “The expedition to Kilimanjaro was quite close to my heart as it was the first time I was experiencing something that I actually wanted to do,” she shared. Machu Picchu and Mount Misti in South America, Cho Oyu in Tibet and Ama Dablam in Nepal are some of the ten few high altitude mountains across the globe undertaken by the female mountaineer. And this wasn’t the end for Kaur, as she is all geared up to summit the year’s forthcoming biggest and most challenging expedition till date, Mount Everest.
On her journey to successful scaling, Kaur was faced by an array of challenges starting from social societies, being patronised for being a female mountaineer, and has faced many physical, mental and emotional pressures among others. But, she never allowed herself to be bogged down by these obstacles on her way to scaling heights and this is quite evident from her forthcoming plans.
DO’S
Train the heart.
Enjoy and embrace.
Respect others and yourself.
Take each moment as a challenge and smile with every step.
DON’TS
Leave litter.
Have any ego.
Think you own the mountain. Bring negativity into the group or stir the dynamics of the group.
Ask the mountaineer her plans for the future and she shared, “I plan to climb all 14, 8,000 metre peaks and complete my seven summits. This will be followed by Makalu, Kanchenjunga, Manaslu and Vinson in 2020. I will continue working in this direction.” With Kaur eyeing Mount Everest and plans to scale heights in the future, we wish her all the luck!
To know more about the avid mountaineer, follow:
Kamal Kaur
Mountaineer
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/kam.kaur.3954
Instagram – @kamkaurofficial
