Bhopal-Based Jyoti Ratre Becomes Oldest Indian Woman To Climb Everest At 55

Bhopal-based entrepreneur turned mountaineer, Jyoti Ratre, climbed Mount Everest on May 19, 2024, at the age of 55. With this feat, she has become the oldest Indian woman to do so.

When most people plan to retire at the age of 55, Bhopal-based entrepreneur turned mountaineer Jyoti Ratre (55) surprises society by scaling the world’s highest peak Mount Everest (8,849 meters). She reached the summit at 6:30 AM on May 19, 2024, becoming the oldest Indian woman to achieve this feat. Conquering all physical and mental barriers, Jyoti turned dreams into reality, becoming a pioneer in the history of Indian mountaineering. Before this, Sangeetha Bahl from Jammu and Kashmir, who climbed Mt.Everest at 53, held this record for the past six years. 

Jyoti Ratre climbed Sagarmatha (Nepali Name of Mount Everest) with a 15-member team. Before embarking on her mountaineering journey, she was busy running her school uniform business.

 

Speaking about her achievement with ABP Live, Jyoti mentioned, "I just wanted to do it for myself. I never planned things keeping the record in mind, but now when I have done this, it is an overwhelming moment for me. I am still processing what I have achieved."

Age Is Just A Number:

Hailing from an adventurous family, Jyoti always dreamt of mountaineering but got caught up in other responsibilities. Yet, she never stopped looking for opportunities to fulfill her dream and when she got the opportunity, she made history and etched her name on its pages. "In my childhood, I heard a leader on the radio saying that when I die, I want my ashes buried in the Himalayas. It made me wonder what is in the Himalayas that makes someone want to go there even after death. I wanted to experience the beauty and spirituality of the Himalayas myself," said Jyoti, explaining her curiosity about the majestic beauty of the Himalayas.

After years of being a businesswoman, Jyoti decided to live her childhood dream at the age of 48. She stated that after getting rejected from numerous mountaineering institutes because of her age, she decided to go ahead without any professional training. "Back then, I was not familiar with many internet tools or mountaineering institutes, but I found out about them from someone. I approached a few institutes for training, but most had an age cap of 42 or 45. I couldn’t get admission anywhere,", she told ABP Live over a phone call, from Kathmandu.

"I was not able to secure any sponsorship due to my age. I used all my savings and took support from friends and family to arrange funds," she added.

Jyoti chose not to give up and started working on her physical strength, took a balanced diet, and attempted several summits before Everest to prepare herself for this day. She exemplifies that age is just a number if you have strong determination.

One Of Many Achievements:

This is not the first time that Jyoti has made the nation and her family proud. Previously she scaled Europe’s highest peak, Mount Elbrus (5,642 metres), and Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 metres) in 2021. She has also climbed Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, Island Peak - known as Imja Tse in Sagarmatha National Park of Nepal, and Mount Kosciuszko in Australia. Jyoti was taking these expeditions as her training to test her fitness and strength.

After several other big and small summits Jyoti aimed for Mount Everest in 2023, but hazardous weather made her descend after climbing 8,199 meters. "I was just 650 meters away from the peak but destiny had something else written and the weather deteriorated. Our Sherpa decided to go back for Camp 4 and I had to return from so close to the peak," she added.

'Bigger Than She Imagine': Summit To Mount Everest

Even after the setback of 2023, Jyoti did not lose hope and continued to work on her physical and mental strength. With time she became stronger and decided to give it another try. However, things have not changed much for her this year as well.

Talking about her summit she said, "Weather plays a significant role in Everest expeditions. A blizzard and whiteout hit our team and we had to wait at the Lhotse camp (7,800) for four days and one night at the base camp 4."

"Everest is 40 per cent about physical fitness and 60 per cent about mental strength. When I started my ascent from Base Camp 4, around 7:30 PM, I ran out of oxygen after a few hours. While changing my oxygen cylinder, I felt like giving up and called the company manager at base camp saying I might not be able to continue. But he convinced me to rest for a few minutes. I thought about my journey and family, which brought my energy back," she added. Madhya Pradesh’s Jyoti Ratre reached the summit at 6:22 AM and achieved the feat of being the oldest Indian woman to climb Mount Everest.

 

Jyoti shared one of the doodling images that she created at Lhotse camp (7,708 meters).

Jyoti also shared that when there were no friends and family members to communicate with at the camps on Everest, doodling helped her retrieve her mental strength and peace. For Jyoti, this dream was bigger than she imagined. "The sunrise from the horizon of the peak is indescribable." She is grateful for her supportive husband and daughter.