Declared Dead, Found Alive: Who is Rescued Indian Mountaineer Baljeet Kaur?

Twenty-seven-year-old Indian woman mountaineer Baljeet Kaur, who went missing during her descent from the summit point of Annapurna, the world’s 10th highest mountain in the world, was found alive on Tuesday, 18 April.

The Himalayan Times Newspaper quotes expedition organiser and Pioneer Adventure Chairman Pasang Sherpa said that Kaur, who scaled the peak without supplemental oxygen, went missing above Camp IV during her descent.

“We sent three helicopters to find Baljeet,” Sherpa said.

With an elevation of 8,091 metres, Annapurna is considered one of the most dangerous peaks to climb due to its steep and exposed terrain, unpredictable weather conditions, and avalanches. However, it remains a popular destination for experienced climbers and mountaineers.

However, the news of Kaur’s survival comes just a day after another Indian climber, Anurag Malu, died after he fell into a 6000m crevasse as he descended from Annapurna’s Camp III.

Moreover, reports said that a fellow climber, 10-time Irish Everest summiteer Noel Hanna breathed his last at Annapurna’s Camp IV after he returned from the summit on Monday night.

Who is Baljeet Kaur?

Baljeet Kaur’s roots trace to the town of Solan in Himachal Pradesh. Nestled within the Shivalik hills, Kaur grew up in the Panchrol hamlet.

The daughter of a retired Himachal State Road Transport Corporation, Baljeet Kaur is the eldest of four siblings. She has spoken of the growing responsibility that fell on her shoulders at the nimble age of eight.

In an interview with FirstPost, Kaur narrated:

“My mother would set out early morning for the hillside to collect grass for the cows. It was my responsibility to tend to my two sisters and brother. By the age of eight, I was cooking meals for the entire family.”

At school, Kaur stumbled across the National Cadet Corps, and her fascination with their khaki uniforms, coupled with ambitions to join the Indian Army, drove Kaur towards the youth force.

“I, too, wanted to be a part of the NCC, but since there were too many aspirants, I had to back out,” she said.

However, the premature death of one of her sisters changed Kaur’s approach to life and marked a turning point after one of her earliest decisions to join the NCC in college.

During her time as an NCC cadet, she got her first taste of mountaineering after cadets were offered a Basic Mountaineering Course at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in West Bengal’s Darjeeling.

In her formative years, Kaur had laughed at the idea of getting paid to climb mountains.

“We did it all the time back home,” she said.

After she finished the course in early 2015, there was no stopping Baljeet Kaur. From her first real climbing opportunity on the 6,001 metre Deo Tibba mountain in Kullu, she was at home and in her element.

Kaur subsequently attempted to climb Mount Trisul, stopping just 300 metres from the summit and also negotiated the perilous Siachen Glacier. But Bajleet Kaur tackled her toughest opponent in the Spring of 2016, when she was picked for an expedition to the infamous Mount Everest. Unfortunately, her climb did not go as planned.

After she changed her oxygen cylinder almost 8,400 metres above sea level on the Balcony, a flat area on Everest’s Southeast Ridge, a mask malfunction cut off her oxygen supply and ended her climb.

It took several gruelling years of training and networking with renowned mountaineering and organisations to rethink an Everest expedition – the only ambition in Kaur’s mind. She also pursued an Advance Mountaineering Course from the Atal Bihari Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports during this period.

To gather funds for her Everest expedition, Baljeet Kaur led commercial treks, taught acting and dancing back home, joined groups to perform stage and street plays, and took up daily chores at other houses while working in her family’s fields.

In 2021, she was picked for an expedition to the 7,161-metre Pumori Mountain, also known as Everest’s daughter, and became the first Indian to reach Pumori’s summit. She also summited Dhaulagiri, a dangerous mountain that seldom saw a summit since the Spring of 2018.

“I remember waking up at 3.30 in the morning to catch the snow, but it didn’t snow anywhere. It was like I was doomed never to see it. It was much later that I realised why this was happening,” she said.

But Kaur had her eyes set on climbing four 8,000-metre peaks – Everest, Annapurna, Lhotse and Kanchenjunga – in a single season and moved to Gurugram to connect with sponsors and raise funds, which barely poured in despite her best efforts.

It was only a few weeks before she left for Nepal that Baljeet Kaur managed to arrange a part of the funds she needed.

After two rotations on Annapurna I in 2021 – the mountain where she went missing and was miraculously found alive, she submitted the 10th highest mountain in the world.

Even though Kaur struggled to gather funds, a call from Delhi-based Rodic Consultants paved the way for her to summit Kanchenjunga in May 2022. Just a few days later, she arrived at Everest base camp.

As the window for good weather got smaller, Kaur summited the mighty Everest and reached the peak of Lhotse. But Kaur was still not satisfied.

After climbing four gruelling 8,000-metre peaks, Baljeet Kaur decided to climb Makalu towards the end of May, breaking multiple records.

Kaur’s childhood dream was clear – she wanted to see snow. She narrated how her parents drove her to Shimla every winter but would return without touching snow.

“I remember waking up at 3.30 in the morning to catch the snow, but it didn’t snow anywhere. It was like I was doomed never to see it. It was much later that I realised why this was happening,” she said.