The first Indian woman to conquer Everest
Witness History2 Jun 2023

The first Indian woman to conquer Everest

As a child, Bachendri Pal never dreamt of conquering mountains but a chance meeting with a climber changed all that.

She applied for a mountaineering course and was chosen to be part of India’s first mixed-gender team to climb Mount Everest.

On the journey, she faced icy winds, freezing temperatures and an avalanche that destroyed the camp.

But finally, on 23 May 1984, Bachendri became the first Indian woman to reach the summit of Everest. It was an achievement that changed her life, as she told Jane Wilkinson.

(Photo: Bachendri Pal, pictured on right, on Everest 1984. Credit: Sonam Paljor)

Episoder(2000)

Car-free Sundays during the global oil crisis

Car-free Sundays during the global oil crisis

In October 1973, the Netherlands was the only western European country to face a full oil embargo from the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, OAPEC.During the global oil crisis, they ...

28 Apr 10min

The world's first perfume archive

The world's first perfume archive

On 26 April 1990, the world's first perfume archive opened in Versailles, France.The idea behind L'Osmothèque was to create a collection of scents and preserve their memory.Perfumer Jean Claude Ellena...

27 Apr 10min

The Tabasco floods

The Tabasco floods

In 2007, the Mexican state of Tabasco experienced its worst flooding in 50 years, with more than a million people affected. Eighty per cent of the region was under water, with people having to be res...

24 Apr 10min

The clean-up of Chernobyl

The clean-up of Chernobyl

The disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Ukraine, on 26 April 1986, was the world’s worst nuclear accident. The explosion in reactor four caused radioactive parts to be spread over the ne...

23 Apr 10min

Canada's war in the woods

Canada's war in the woods

In 1993, plans to log one of Canada’s ancient rainforests sparked the country’s largest act of civil disobedience. It was known as the war in the woods. For months, protesters blocked a remote logging...

22 Apr 10min

Europe’s long drought of 2011

Europe’s long drought of 2011

In 2011, after months of little or no rain in central and eastern Europe, water levels on some parts of the Danube River fell to their lowest level in 70 years.It’s one of Europe’s busiest shipping ro...

21 Apr 9min

Mymba Kuera: The race to save wildlife at the Itaipu dam

Mymba Kuera: The race to save wildlife at the Itaipu dam

In October 1982, Paraguay and Brazil closed the gates of the Itaipu River, beginning to fill the reservoir of what would soon be the world's largest dam. Located in a rainforest on the border betwee...

20 Apr 10min

Discovering Hans Christian Andersen's 'lost fairytale'

Discovering Hans Christian Andersen's 'lost fairytale'

In October 2012, a local historian stumbled upon a misplaced pamphlet in the Danish Archives. It was a story called the Tallow Candle and is believed to be Hans Christian Andersen’s first fairytale. E...

17 Apr 10min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
konspirasjonspodden
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
intervjuet
popradet
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
grenselos
wolfgang-wee-uncut
min-barneoppdragelse
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
synnve-og-vanessa
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
frokostshowet-pa-p5
fladseth
krisemoter