IAF Women scale Everest

Sqn Ldr Nirupama Pandey and Flt Lt Rajika Sharma, followed by Flt Lt Nevidita Choudhary created history for the Indian Air Force by being the first three women IAF officers to summit the Mt. Everest in May 2011 Striving to “Touch the sky with glory” they conquered the world’s highest peak just 40 days after their expedition was flagged off on April 13, 2011. The team comprising eleven women officers, one medical officer and eight male air warriors who are qualified mountaineers, followed the South-East Ridge route which was used by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing in their first successful expedition to Mt. Everest in 1953. Flight Lieutenant Choudhary accompanied by Corporal Raju Sindhu were the first ones in this expedition to scale Mt Everest on May 21, 2011 at 0900 hrs. Squadron Leader Nirupama Pandey and Flight Lieutenant Rajika Sharma accompanied by Squadron Leader D Panda, Sergeant Jasbir Singh and Corporal Ganesh Pokhariya climbed the peak on 25 May 11 at 1015 hrs.