A force to reckon with

She is the first Indian woman in the world to summit Mt Everest five times. Meet Anshu Jamsenpa, Director,  Himalayan Holidays, who is also a motivational speaker. A fighter since the beginning, Jamsenpa hasn’t let the pandemic pull her down and has chosen her own path by pursuing an alternative business and source of income.

Hazel Jain

Anshu Jamsenpa is a mother of two teenage daughters from Bomdila, a remote border town in Arunachal Pradesh. But she is no ordinary woman. Apart from running an adventure travel company called Himalayan Holidays along with her husband, she has also created two world records and one national record in the field of mountaineering in 2017.

Jamsenpa is also a motivational speaker. “I have given motivational speeches at different forums and to varied groups of people, whether it is students or corporate clients. I have trained the Indian Army and the para-military forces like SSB. I have also trained young mountaineers and adventurers as a guest instructor at Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) Darjeeling and National Institute of Mountaineering & Allied Sports (NIMAS) Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh. I was also one of the key speakers at TEDTalks Mumbai,” she shares.

Speaking about her Everest achievement, Jamsenpa says that she has climbed Mt Everest five times already.  How did she do it? “To achieve this feat I had to go through all kinds of hardships. Despite the hurdles, I achieved all this because of my determination and consistency,” Jamsenpa adds. She already has to her credit a total of 13 successful peak summits in just seven years of her mountaineering career.

Her company, Himalayan Holidays, is into culture, wildlife, educational, inbound and outbound tours. But the main focus is, of course, adventure. Right now, she is keeping herself busy by doing gardening, enjoying music and cooking for the family. “My day starts with early morning yoga at 4.30 am and the day ends with one-hour meditation to release stress and relax my mind,” she shares.

An alternative career

COVID-19 has badly hurt the traditional businesses, particularly travel. Jamsenpa admits that her company has also been impacted badly. “We cannot afford to sit for long for tourism business to recover. Hence, as an alternative source of income, we have started online sessions on varied subjects like tourism courses, yoga and meditation classes, quiz, debate and essay competitions,” she says, and adds, “My simple message to the travel trade and industry peers is to stay strong and use your experience and networking strength to the best of your capability and sail through this pandemic period. Most tour operators are smart people and finding a way out will not be a problem for them.”

Her records

• Fastest woman mountaineer in the world to summit Mt Everest twice in 5 days
• First woman in the world to do two Double Ascents of Mt Everest
• First Indian woman in the world to summit Mt Everest 5 times