According to Jamsenpa, it was on the spur of a moment that she decided to climb Mount Everest (29,035 ft) for the second time after she had done it at 7 a.m. on May 12 this year. “I first climbed atop the Mount Everest on May 12. Then I decided to give it another try when we were told that there would be a weather window on May 21, allowing climbers to attempt the summit,” she said. She summited for the second time on May 21 at 5.05 a.m., achieving the unique feat of unfurling the national flag and the Arunachal logo on the highest peak on two occasions in a season.

“I felt humbled by my achievement and instantly offered a short thanksgiving prayer to Lord Buddha after scaling the peak on May 21,” Jamsenpa said. Jamsenpa is a businesswoman – she runs Himalayan Holidays, a tourism enterprise, at Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh, along with her husband Tsering Wange, whom she called the man behind her success and her pillar of strength.

During her second ascent, the brave Arunachalee mountaineer had to put her endurance level to test. Jamsenpa was the leader of the international expedition team, having ten members from six countries. Five climbers from her team made it to the summit, including another Indian, Ganesh Chandra Jena.

Her feat made the entire North East region, which rarely gets space in the headlines for positive news, proud. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi felicitated her on June 4; the Governor and Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on June 6 at Itanagar; the Manipur government on June 20 at Imphal, and the West Bengal Sports Minister on July 23 at Kolkata.

She was also felicitated by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. While showering praises on Jamsenpa for her mountaineering feat, the Prime Minister said “You have made the whole of India proud. I am amazed that being a mother of two, you have made it to the top of the world twice, in a span of just 10 days.”  Jamsenpa was also conferred with the Young Indian Leader Award 2011 in New Delhi, on June 30. She received the prestigious award from Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in recognition of her world record feat. 

Jamsenpa has been a strong proponent of adventure sports and adventure tourism in the North East region. She has advocated for the early commissioning of the National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (NIMAS), which is fast coming up at Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh. She has also taken up the issue of opening the virgin Arunachal peaks for mountain climbing and expeditions. In this regard, she has already met the Defence Minister A K Anthony on July 14. “We have so many virgin peaks in Arunachal Pradesh which should be opened up for climbing to encourage our youth, and also to promote adventure tourism which will contribute to mitigate the unemployment problem in our state,” she said.

Her husband, Tsering Wange, is the president of Arunachal Mountaineering & Adventure Sports Association (AMASA). They have two children -- Pasang Droma Jamsenpa (10) and Tenzing Nyiddon Jamsenpa (6). Jamsenpa is an alumnus of the Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association (MMTA), Imphal, and was trained under Surjit Singh and Ibungochoubi Ningthoukhongjam. 

On May 29, Nepal’s Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma felicitated her at the 4th International Everest Day celebration in Kathmandu. All Everest summiteers and record holders were honoured with certificates and medals. Jamsenpa has also been conferred membership in the Everest Summiteers’ Club. And apart from all this, she is entitled to free meals at the Rum Doodle Bar and Restaurant in Kathmandu. For Life!

by A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT