Exploring the peaks of the world’s highest mountains or the secrets of space’s deepest labyrinths has become almost second nature for Poorna Malavath and Kavya Manyapu.
It has taken Manyapu to NASA where her research has included designing space suits, and Malavath to the top of Mount Everest when in 2014, she became the youngest ever woman to summit the world’s highest mountain at just 13 years old.
Now, these two women have channeled their exploring spirit into climbing some of the world’s most difficult mountains as part of their campaign, Project Shakthi, which raises money to fund girls’ education.
At the end of August, they climbed a 6,012m virgin peak in Ladakh, India – one previously unmapped and untouched by human expeditions – aiming to use the symbolism of blazing a trail both literally and metaphorically.
Never climbed before, the mountain presented difficult challenges for even an experienced mountaineer like Malavath, for there were neither trails to follow nor advice from previous climbers to cling to.
“We have to prepare ourselves mentally to accept everything,” Malavath explains to CNN Sport. “So it is completely different and it has given me so much more knowledge to guide others.”
Rainy weather conditions that turned to snow at high altitude added to the complexities of climbing a virgin peak.