At 22, Noida’s Arjun Vajpai scales fifth-highest peak Mt Makalu

Noida resident Arjun Vajpai on Monday morning scaled Mount Makalu - the fifth-highest peak in the world, becoming one of the youngest climbers to achieve this feat. His mother Priya Vajpai confirmed his accomplishment. The 22-year-old scaled the 8,481-metre high mountain in Nepal at about 11am.

“Since the age of 16, he has been scaling mountains. There are 14 peaks in the world which are higher than 8,000 metres. Arjun has scaled four of them so far. He aims to conquer all 14 mountains,” said Priya.

Read more: Nepal quake: I saw the Himalayas dance, says mountaineer Arjun Vajpai

Arjun had climbed Mount Everest at an age of 16 years in 2010, becoming the third youngest Indian to scale the highest peak in the world.

He started scaling Mount Makalu on May 20 and he reached the top after three days of climbing.

“He is on his way back to the base camp. We are excited and waiting for his return. He will speak to us on the phone once he reaches in an area covered by mobile network,” said Priya.

Read more: Noida teenager scales new heights, summits Lhotse

Vajpai had undergone training in professional mountaineering at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) at Uttarkashi when he was 16 years old and since then he has been into mountaineering actively.

This was his fourth attempt to scale Mount Makalu. In year 2013 and 2014, poor weather conditions prevented him from scaling the mountain. He again attempted to climb Mount Makalu in April 2015. However, when he was at the base camp, a strong earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale shook Nepal forcing Arjun to abandon his plans.

Read More: Post-Everest, teen sets sights higher

“Arjun always went prepared to scale the peak but the weather and earthquake stopped him for three consecutive times. This time he did not face any such hurdle and scaled the peak with his fellow climbers within three days,” said Priya.

Mount Makalu on the Nepal and China border is considered one of the most dangerous mountains among adventure sportspersons.