Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 27 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has felicitated Rupamoni Gorh, the first woman from Assam to scale Mount Everest, at a ceremonial function held at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati.

In recognition of her achievement, the CM presented financial assistance of Rs. 10 lakh in the ceremony on Sunday.

Gorh had created history by becoming a member of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police's (ITBP) first-ever all-women international Everest expedition, which successfully reached the summit on May 21.

Her remarkable feat also saw her become the first woman from Assam to scale the world's highest peak as part of the force's historic all-women mountaineering team.

Gorh shared her journey of becoming part of the ITBP's historic all-women Everest expedition. After completing basic and advanced mountaineering training in 2024 and 2025, she was selected among 11 climbers for the 2026 expedition.

Despite facing extreme challenges like carrying heavy gear, difficulty eating and sleeping at high altitudes, and severe headaches, Gorh successfully reached the Everest summit on May 21, 2026.

The expedition took 24 days from India to Nepal, with the final climb from Base Camp to the summit completed in four days.

'The preparation process began in 2024. We completed the basic course in 2024 and the advanced course in 2025. 14 girls participated, and all successfully reached the summit... We were called for the Mount Everest expedition in early 2026; we underwent pre-training for 2 months, and out of the 14, 11 were selected, myself included. When I undertook my first climb, I had thought I wouldn't pursue this field further because the work is incredibly hard - carrying your own gear and struggling to eat or sleep properly at such high altitudes. I also suffered from severe headaches...I summited on May 21, 2026. The entire journey from India to Nepal took 24 days, but the actual ascent from Base Camp to the summit took 4 days,' Gorh told ANI. (ANI)