Arunima Sinha, the World’s First Female Amputee to Climb Mount Everest

India’s famous mountain climber and sportswoman, Arunima Sinha, is an inspiration to many. She is a true example of a woman fighting against all odds and making a mark for herself. Even after having met with an accident, Arunima Sinha, an Indian volleyball player, is also the first female amputee to have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus, Mount Kosciuszko, Mount Vinson, etc. Her never giving up spirit and courage is truly what heroes are made of. Find out all about the wonder woman that is Arunima Sinha – a lady with an unbreakable spirit and tremendous passion.

Must Read: How to Become a Mountain Climber?

About Arunima Sinha 

Born on 20 July 1989 in Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, Arunima Sinha is an Indian volleyball player, mountaineer, and the world’s first female amputee to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus, Mount Kosciuszko, Mount Vinson, etc. In addition to this, she has also climbed Asia’s pride mountain, ‘Mount Everest,’ the earth’s highest mountain above sea level with 8,848.86m of elevation.

In 2011 at the age of 23, Arunima Sinha met with an unfortunate incident. She was pushed from a running train by a few robbers. She got severely injured and had to get amputated below the knees with rods in the right leg. Numerous fractures in the spinal cord but with a strong belief in herself,  she overcame all the darkness and shined bright yet again.  

“No matter how great a loss, time always heals the pain, even though the scars remain.”

Early Life and Education

Arunima Sinha was born in an Indian family in Panda Tola, Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. Her father served as a loyal, hardworking engineer in the Indian army, whereas her mother devotedly worked as a supervisor in the health department. Arunima Sinha has an elder sister and a younger brother.

She did her schooling at Government Girls Inter College, Akbarpur, Uttar Pradesh, followed by graduation in Mountaineering course from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarakhand. In addition to mountaineering courses, she has also completed an MA in Sociology along with LLB.

Climbing the Mount Everest

Arunima Sinha’s aim in life was to climb the highest peak of every continent and proudly hoist India’s national flag over there. With faith in mind and passion in her heart, Arunima Sinha made this most challenging thing possible and stepped up to fulfil her favourite dream. Enlisted are the peaks climbed by her.

• Mount Everest- Asia
• Mount Elbrus- Russia
• Mount Aconcagua- Argentina
• Mount Kilimanjaro- Tanzania
• Mount Kosciuszko- Australia
• Mount Carstensz- Indonesia
• Mount Vinson- Antarctica

An Unfortunate Accident

On her way to an examination that would open doors for her to CISF, Arunima Sinha met with an unforgettable incident. She was pushed out of a running train when she tried hard to save herself from getting robbed. The very moment she fell on the railway track, screaming and suffering in pain, another train running on a parallel way went through her crushing her leg below the knee, causing severe fractures and unbelieving pains.

As a monetary compensation, she was offered compensation worth R.25000 by the Indian Sports Ministry. Additionally, she also got Rs.2,00,000 from the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Ajay Maken as compensation for medical relief, followed by a recommendation letter for a job in CISF.

The accident was so terrible and disastrous that this treatment was not enough for her, which made Arunima Sinha undergo an additional treatment for about four months at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. She was provided with an artificial leg by a private Delhi company. Police further increased her pain by stating that she might have tried suicide or was just so careless while crossing the railway track.

Her Journey as a Mountain Climber

The hospital, where millions lose hope, stood as a new ray of hope for this passionate mountaineer. Arunima Sinha decided to achieve something great and plan to climb Asia’s highest peak ‘Mount Everest.’ As the first step in this vision, Sinha decided to enrol herself in the introductory mountaineering course offered by Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi.

In the words of Lana Del Rey, “Find someone who has a life that you want and figure out how they got it. Read books, pick your role models wisely. Find out what they did and do it.” Arunima Sinha followed the same thing in her life and so decided to get trained from Bachendri Pal, her role model who physically and mentally trained Arunima and developed and changed her into the person we know today. In this way, after continuous training, guidance and motivation, she finally climbed Mount Everest, marking her name as the world’s first amputee female to climb Mount Everest.

Awards and Recognition

There is no doubt that Arunima Sinha is a living influencer and an inspiring figure who has consistently elevated India and its pride. She has secured numerous awards and recognition and yet is on her way to secure even more. Enlisted is the list of awards she has secured as of now:

• Padma Shri Award (2015)
• Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (2015)
• First Lady Award (2016)
• Malala Award
• Yash Bharti Award
• Rani Laxmi Bai Award

Arunima Sinha’s Tips to Success

Arunima Sinha believes that anything and everything can be made possible through strong belief and faith in oneself. Various tips have been given by her, which can make your journey towards success more exciting and smooth. They are as follows:

• Make your weakness your strength
• Never give up
• Everything in my mind
• The harder you work, the luckier you get
• Be your motivation
• Be a risk-taker
• Build goals, not walls

Explore Let Your Adrenaline Rush with a Career in Adventure Sports

Indeed Arunima Sinha is an inspiring lady who has rightfully proved to the world that a physical inability can never be a hurdle until and unless you mentally stand firm to fight against it. We hope you enjoyed reading about her and the will to fight against all odds. She is not just a role model but also a torchbearer of the many things women can do if they decide to. We salute you, Arunima! For more such inspirational stories and reads, stay tuned to Leverage Edu. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Quora.