SHILLONG, June 22: NCC cadet Rifiness Warjri (20) has made history by becoming the youngest and third woman from Meghalaya to conquer the Mount Everest.
She summited the world’s tallest peak (over 8,848 metres) on May 18.
Rifiness, a BSc (Botany) student of St. Anthony’s College, was accorded a warm welcome by her 61 Meghalaya Girls’ Battalion NCC and family members upon her arrival at the Umroi Airport on Saturday.
The third of five children of Shlurbor Kharmyndai and Diamondsea Warjri, she was the only cadet from the Northeast to be selected for the 38-member Mount Everest expedition team. She had scaled the Mount Abi Gamin (7,355 metres) in Uttarakhand in August 2024.
Before Rifiness, three others from Meghalaya had conquered the Everest. The first was Discovery Channel photographer Gary Jarman Lamare who summitted the peak in 2012. Wansuk Myrthong, a constable with Meghalaya Police (Armed Branch), scaled it in 2013 while Dolyne Kharbhih, a former NCC cadet hailing from Ri-Bhoi district, achieved the feat in 2016.
Rifiness was happy that she could bring laurels to Meghalaya.
“Taking the Indian flag to the top of the world was the happiest moment. I am going to cherish this moment forever,” she told The Shillong Times. She thanked God for protecting her.
Talking about the journey, she said it started with the selection process at the state level, followed by the selection for the cadets from the Northeast in Guwahati, and the subsequent selection from among all NCC cadets pooled from across the country, which was held in Delhi. The final phase of the selection started at Mount Abi Gamin.
“We then had to undergo training at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarakhand and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. After this, we had the last phase of winter training at Siachen, which is known as the world’s highest battlefield,” Rifiness said.
Stating that around 17 lakh cadets from across the country took part in the selection process, she said the training at Siachen was very tough, as it was meant for the selection of ten NCC cadets who would eventually get to climb the Mount Everest.
“I was happy when I found myself among the final ten selected NCC cadets – five boys and five girls. It was a tough selection process,” Rifiness said.
She mentioned that their preparation to scale the Everest started in March this year – from the treks in Kathmandu, Nathula Pass and it continued till they reached the Everest base camp.
Rifiness recalled how she had to climb over four human bodies during her expedition.
She said the Everest expeditions usually start from the base camp. The mountaineers then go up to camp two, camp three, and camp four, from where the summit push begins. She said camp four, located at an altitude of 8,000 metres, is known as the death zone.
“We had to use the oxygen mask to be able to breathe while climbing. I saw many mountaineers facing problems in breathing,” Rifiness said.
On the time it takes to climb from one camp to another, she said it depends on the speed at which a mountaineer climbs. For people who can climb faster, it will take only five to six hours.
From camp four, she started climbing at around 7 to 7:30 pm of May 17 and she reached the summit at 4 am the next day.
Stating that her parents inspired her to take part in the selection process, she said she will remain indebted to them for their support and sacrifices to enable her to undertake the Everest journey.
“I would also attribute my success to the NCC for grooming and polishing me. I want to thank the NCC for giving me the opportunity to climb the Everest,” said Rifiness who is an athlete of mixed martial arts.
“I was first introduced to mountaineering during my school days in NCC at Auxilium Convent School. During the NCC camp in 2019, Miss Dolyne Kharbhih told us about the Mount Everest expedition since she herself had climbed the Mount Everest in 2016,” Rifiness said.
She said she got to learn a lot about the Mount Everest expedition from Kharbhih. She said she started developing an interest in adventure sports following her interaction with Kharbhih.
