Ruchika Jain, a mountaineering and trekking enthusiast from Udaipur scaled 6,500 meters of Mount Kun in Ladakh, which is a mammoth 7,077 meters. Under the banner of She-ksha Rohan this attempt was dedicated to empowering education for the girl child.

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Mt Kun is a part of Nun-Kun mountain massif, which stand at 7,135 meters and 7,077 meters respectively. They fall on the Indian side of the line of control in Ladakh. Scaling one of the highest peaks in natures wonderland of Ladakh, hence, was by no means a walk in the park. Ruchika's journey to her tryst with the 7,077 meter high peak (approximately 23,218 feet) summit began on 22 August from Udaipur. Her journey took her across Delhi, Srinagar and Leh, where she and her team promoted Girl Education. She along with her 5 team members managged to scale 6,500 on 12 September. The massif is located near Sankoo in the Suru Valley, Kargil District about 250km east of Srinagar. Kun Peak is located north of Nun and is separated from it by a snowy plateau of about 4 km (2.5 mi) in length. Pinnacle Peak, 6,930 m (22,736 ft), is the third highest summit of the group.

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The summit effort upwards of 20000 ft was in sub zero temperatures and struggling with scant oxygen, only 6 people from the batch of 12 could reach 6,500 meters. Ruchika was the only representative from Rajasthan. Nearly 1000 meters of perpendicular Ice walls need to be scaled after the last camp at 6000 meters. The team of 6 managed to scale 500 meters with the help of technical equipment, falling short of the final summit due to weather conditions. Ruchika's basic mountaineering course with the Nehru Mountaineering Institue in 2019 helped her achieve this feat.

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Adding this feather to her cap, she now boasts of 8 such difficult Himalayan expeditions, the -35 degree Chaadar Trek being one of them. Her next target for 2022 is Mount Everest, which is the highest mountain in the world at 8,848 meters.

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Ruchika was assisted by the Udaipur Nagar Nigam, Chocolate Room and Ramya Resort for this expedition. Ruchika, speaking to UdaipurTimes, also thanks her mother Asha Jain, father Narendra Handawat, brother Uman Jain, Mama Dr Jinendra Shastri, Manohar Jain and friends Priya Sachdev, Neha Jain and Shivangi Barola for their immense support in her endeavors.

[More Photos from Ruchika's expedition]

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