A year from turning 60, the only number that former beauty queen and active mountaineer Sangeeta Bahl is bothered with is the number of peaks she has scaled. Literal mountain peaks. Having scaled six of the ‘Seven Peaks’ treks spread across the globe, Bahl now has her eyes set on Denali, the seventh and her last. But the last three times have brought her no luck.
Bahl scaled Mt Everest in 2018 at the age of 53, becoming the oldest Indian woman to do so. But Bahl wasn’t always interested in scaling mountains. In fact, she had a successful career as an air hostess. Her first summit was at the ripe age of 47 when she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, along with her husband. That was followed by Mount Elbrus in Europe. The couple then became the third and fourth Indians to climb Mount Vinson in Antarctica and also scaled Mount Aconcagua in South America and Mount Kosciuszko in Australia. The athlete in her is not done yet.
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Since 2022, Bahl has been training people for Everest Base camp under her company ‘Impact Mountaineering’. “Many people just under or over 50 show up and I love to encourage them. After all, climbing can restore new life in people,” she states. The former Miss India participant nevertheless advises caution. “It’s not for everyone,” she says.
With her dedication to sports and fitness, Bahl also likes to challenge gender norms and sexism. “Women who like to dress up or show interest in make-up are often not considered ‘sporty’. I want to change such attitudes,” Bahl states. A big fan of ‘dressing up’ and make-up herself, Bahl believes that a healthy lifestyle and exercise are key to looking beautiful but also adds that age and beauty are not exclusive concepts and believes that beauty is not defined by age but by one’s actions.
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Having grown up in a conservative family in Jammu, Bahl had to give up some forms of sports like swimming. “Something about getting wet in a public pool made my conservative father uncomfortable, which meant that I ended up never learning to swim,” she recalls. “It was always a sore thumb for me”. In the last year, Bahl proudly says that she learned swimming in just a span of two months. “I never want to stop learning new things,” she gushes.
On her 60th birthday, Bahl hopes to scale her seventh peak. The athlete nevertheless has a backup plan, just in case she remains fourth time unlucky. “I will take part in the Triathlon, now that I know swimming. Hell, I might even try crossing the English Channel! I will never stop being the oldest at something, that’s for sure,” she laughs.
