THISABILITY

Anyone who knows Chhonzin Angmo vouches for her mental strength and self-belief. “Being blind is not my weakness, it’s my strength,” asserts the 29-year-old, who scripted history on May 19 by becoming the first blind woman in the world to scale Mt Everest. Four men have achieved the feat earlier. From a small village (Chango) in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, the customer service associate with the Union Bank of India in New Delhi has a refreshingly stoic disposition. “I might not have achieved with eyesight what I’ve accomplished without it. I am extremely happy with my life,” says Angmo, explaining why she no longer regrets the loss of vision owing to a medicinal reaction when she was eight years old.

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Conquering the highest peak of the world, that too in her very first attempt, marks the fulfilment of a dream she had been nurturing for nearly 15 years. For the world, her feat is a reminder that persons with physical disabilities are capable of pushing the boundaries and achieving their goals.

“It might take us a little more time, effort, and some support, but we can do whatever others can. My achievement will help change society’s mindset towards people with disabilities,” she says, with conviction.

So strong is her belief in her abilities that she doesn’t talk much about the problems that she would have encountered while climbing the treacherous slopes and crossing dangerous crevices. On the contrary, she finds an advantage in her apparent disadvantage. “If you can see high peaks and deep crevices, it could leave you discouraged and scared. In my case, I couldn’t see how steep the slopes were and how deep the crevices. I just kept going, following directions from my guide. So, not being able to see was, in a way, advantageous for me,” Angmo adds.

The mountaineers, though, know better. For them, the degree of difficulty a blind person would have climbing the mountains is just too much. For instance, there are big gaps in the mountains which have to be crossed on a ladder. “There can’t be more than one person on the ladder at a time. Just imagine her on these ladders over crevices hundreds of metres deep, pushing herself to the other end. Yes, harnesses are there but it could still leave many frozen with fear,” says Romil Barthwal, team leader of the group that Angmo was part of.

“And there are deep gaps in the mountains where you have to jump. She had to touch the other end with her walking stick, judge the distance, and then jump. One could try and jump with eyes closed inside their home to get an idea about how challenging it could be in the snow-covered mountains,” he adds.

Nevertheless, Angmo was one of the quick movers in the group. She was among the first to reach the top. “Her mental resolve and physical strength are incredible. She may have lost her eyes, but her other senses are much sharper. From the time of acclimatisation, we knew that it would be entirely our fault if she failed to summit,” says Bharat Thammineni, founder of Boots and Crampons, the mountaineering company that Angmo was associated with. “It was our first opportunity to take a blind person on the expedition. It was a big challenge for us. We are glad we took up the challenge,” he adds.

Angmo can’t recollect exactly when she first thought of climbing the Everest. “She was perhaps 14 or 15 when she told us she would climb Everest one day. We’ve no clue when and how the thought entered her mind,” says Gopal Chand, her elder brother, a farmer. Angmo, however, has a clear answer for ‘why’. This clarity, she says, came when she joined Miranda House in New Delhi for her graduation.

“I realised that society has created boundaries for people with disabilities. I wanted to push those boundaries and prove that we are no less. I thought scaling Everest would be the best way to drive home my point,” recalls Angmo.

In 2016, she went to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Manali for a basic mountaineering course. “I am an ex-Army commando, but she still surprised me with her self-belief and mental strength. Even physically, she was quite strong. There was nothing she thought she couldn’t do,” recalls Parduman Singh Negi, her instructor at the course.

Following the course, she gradually started climbing peaks in Ladakh and elsewhere, including the Siachen Glacier. She also started cycling, running marathons, swimming — nurturing the dream of climbing Everest someday. Individuals and institutions, however, were not willing to financially back a blind girl for the Everest expedition. “I knocked on many doors, but none helped, thinking how could a blind girl climb Everest. Eventually, the Union Bank of India, where I am employed, came forward to finance my dream. I am indebted to the bank for reposing faith in me and sponsoring my expedition,” says Angmo.

The climber attributes her unique traits — confidence and utmost resolve — to the years she spent at the Mahabodhi Residential School in Ladakh, which she had joined after losing her eyesight.

“She was devastated after losing her vision. She would sit at home while her friends went to school. It was a really difficult time for her and the family as we didn’t know what to do,” her brother recalls.

During this dark period, the ray of hope came when someone from the Mahabodhi school took note of Angmo, and the family allowed her to get enrolled at the school.

She was the only visually-impaired girl in her class of able-bodied children, and would stay aloof. “The care and attention of my classmates, teachers and the founder of the school pulled me out of my despair and aloofness,” she recalls.

“They would help me with my studies, and force me to participate in all extra-curricular activities. Even if I did not give my name for any activity, they would. They made me feel that I could do everything that they could, and soon I, too, started believing it,” says Angmo.

The other phase which further strengthened her confidence was when she took admission in Miranda House. She didn’t get a room in the hostel on the campus during her first year in college, and had to commute a fair distance between her college and where she was living.

“For the first time, I was staying alone and managing my affairs without any help. Quite a few times I stumbled hard, and thought of giving up,” recalls Angmo. Again, her friends from school came to her help and encouraged her to go on. “They again told me I can do anything, and I believed them,” she says. Today, she calls the period a blessing in disguise. The problems she faced at that time made her totally self-reliant. “Give me my stick and phone, and I can now go anywhere in Delhi or elsewhere without any assistance,” says Angmo, in a voice bubbling with quiet confidence.

Acho Rigzin, a mountaineering guide, part of the tribe which helped Angmo realise her Everest dream, is also stumped by her tenacity. “If someone ever hits a low point in life, she or he just needs to look at this girl. She is such a huge inspiration for everyone,” he says.

Her biggest dream achieved, what next for her? The answer lies in the last line of Chhonzin Angmo’s brief resume — “My story does not end here, it has just begun!”