Journalism of Courage
TRICITY mountaineers who have been at the Draupadi Ka Danda peak-2 known as DKD-2 while pursuing mountaineering courses at National Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), Uttarkashi, are shocked at the death of two instructors when an avalanche hit this peak on October 4.
“The young woman instructor, Naumi Rawat, 23, who is among the dead, was my batchmate during the ‘search and rescue 34 training course’ held in February-March 2022. She was excellent. I clearly remember we were a batch of at least 54 students and 10 of them were women. Six gave up due to many reasons. Naumi Rawat was among four who completed the course. She was badly hurt during practice but she overcame her injury. Naumi had been on both the peaks — Draupadi Ka Danda 1 and 2 — for many times. She twice scaled these peaks during her ‘basis and advance mountaineering course’ at NIM. She had also cleared her Method of Instructor (MOI) course from NIM,” said Aditya Gaur, a certified mountaineer settled in Panchkula.
He said that the NIM has already postponed many mountaineering courses in the wake of tragedy. Naumi Rawat along with another instructor, Savita Kanswal, of Haryana, were among dead in the tragedy.
Vishal Thakur of Chandigarh, who had been on DKD-2 pursuing advance mountaineering course from NIM in 2019, said, “It is for the first time when a tragedy hit Draupadi Ka Danda peak 2. These are two peaks known as DKD 1, DKD 2. The ascending DKD 2 is part of syllabus for advance mountaineering course. The DKD 2 is a safe zone and an avalanche-free area. It is the reason why DKD 2 is a perfect place for training. I had completed my basic mountaineering and advance mountaineering courses in 2017 and 2019 respectively. In mountaineering, generally a peak shaped in more than 45 degree angle is considered prone to the avalanche. I knew personally the two instructors, including Savita Kanswal, who had recently scaled Mount Everest.”
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