How an 11-year-old Pune girl’s tenacity won over the treacherous terrain of Kilimanjaro

Her mother, Urmi Rathod, said Iva trained “back home in Pune by climbing our apartment building stairs multiple times a day wearing her trekking boots and a loaded backpack.”

Her father, Darshan Rathod, accompanied her on the expedition. Veteran mountaineer Chetan Ketkar led the team and brought along his own 11-year-old son, Arjun Ketkar. Arjun matched Iva, step for step, all the way to the summit.

Her mother Urmi traveled to Zanzibar, Tanzania, to wait for their return during their one-and-a-half-day descent. Mount Kilimanjaro is notorious for acute mountain sickness. This condition can affect climbers regardless of their physical fitness. “I was constantly worried about this unpredictable factor,” Urmi said.

The wait finally ended on July 27 when the team reached Stella Point near the summit. Urmi received a phone call confirming their safety and success. She credits Iva’s mental resilience. “We have always treated Iva as a mature individual capable of making her own choices,” she explained. “We want to guide her instead of dictating.”

“I was a crying mess when I heard her voice,” Urmi recalled. “She is the strongest person I know. She is extremely focused, encouraging, and dedicated. Her mental strength really showed during this climb.”

Despite the intense physical toll, Iva remained encouraging and focused on the mountain. To celebrate her achievement upon returning to the base, her father kept the promise of letting her have any food she wanted for a month. She kickstarted that by having her favourite vada pav at an Indian restaurant in Tanzania.

(Tejas Sane is an intern with The Indian Express)