Everest to Empowerment, an interactive session held with Mountaineer Shailee Basnet

Hyderabad: Everest to Empowerment, an interactive session held with mountaineer Shailee Basnet here in the city at Hotel Radisson Blue on Saturday.
 
She spoke to 150 YFLO members about her experiences climbing some of the tallest mountains on the earth, the challenges she and her teammates faced, and the lessons they learned.
 
Start from where you are, work on yourself, keep your ego in check if you have bigger vision and together we reach higher are the few lessons Shailee shared that she learnt from her ascents of various mountains across the world.
 
Being on with the nature was the most beautiful thing of scaling Mount Everest. It was the biggest blessing, added Shailee .
 
The interaction was organised by Young FICCI Ladies Organisation(YFLO).
 
Welcoming the gathering YFLO Chairperson, Shilpa Datla said success is a journey for life. Everyday achievements are very important. But, many of us underlook these small successes. Here is one, Shailee Basnet, who is known for everyday victories. Her life is filled with everyday victories and successes in various spheres of life.
 
For many, climbing the world’s highest mountain might be the greatest achievements—but not for Shailee Basnet. Since the Nepal native climbed Mount Everest in May 2008, she’s reached even higher points in her life. After conquering Everest, Basnet set her sight on Seven Summits Women Team. Four and a half years later, she and her seven teammates became the first women’s team in the world to climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents: Everest in Asia, Mount Kosciuszko in Australia, Mount Elbrus in Europe, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Aconcagua in South America, Mount Denali in North America and Vinson Massif in Antarctica.
 
Between climbing different peaks, Basnet accomplished other goals such as becoming a motivational speaker and stand-up comedian. The 36-year-old Basnet gives talks at conventions, seminars, educational institutions all over the world. She has been performing her own comedy shows in Nepal and across the world.
 
It was her first visit to the city. I was dying to eat Hyderabadi Biryani. I tasted it yesterday night at the hotel where I am staying. Hyderabad is a nice city. I am coming here again on February 20th to address at Women Congress, she shared.
 
Yes, scaling Mount Everest has become easy because of better Human resources, technology, weather predictions. But that didn’t stop people from dying. People are still dying. Everest still remains the highest peak in the world. This has not changed said Shailee
 
Mountaineering is a simple game of lungs and legs. The success depends on how you train and manage these two organs Shailee said.
 
Traffic on Everest is not new. It used to be there 12 years back too when I scaled it.  What is changed now is there are cameras everywhere and the photos of the traffic jams are shared on Social Media, which was not the case in the past she shared.
 
I am planning to author my first book this year. It will be “7 Summits—7 Challenges and 7 Lessons”. I am looking for a good international publisher. The book will be completed this year, she shared.
 
Just less than 6000 people climbed Mount Everest so far. Off this very handful of Nepali women climbed Mount Everest she shared. It was only in 1993, forty years after Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary scaled it first time, a first nepali woman Pasang Lhamu Sherpa climbed the Everest, she added.
 
Junko Tabei was the first woman to summit Mt. Everest, the world's highest peak, in 1975. She is my inspiration, Shailee shared in response to a question asked by few children who came to listen to her.
 
My life ambition is to transform the lives of young girls who are rescued from flesh trade. We would like to help them get their dignified life.
 
I live in Kathmandu and USA, she informed.
 
Born in Khathmandu, Nepal, Shailee Basnet is a multi-faceted personality. She is a mountaineer, Social Worker, Motivational Speaker, Stand-up Comedian and a Journalist. She was in the city to interact with YFLO members. She shared her journey.
 
She considered herself privileged to get good education but was not happy about how female students were barred from sports and physical exercise.
 
Shailee started her journey from the ascent of Mt Everest in May 2008. She has since been the Coordinator of ‘Seven Summits Women Team’, first women team in the world to climb the 7 summits. She leads special leadership treks and spiritual trips in the blissful Himalayan region. She and  her team’s non-profit GIA has been supporting 8 schools in Nepal following the 2015 Earthquake. GIA also provides special training to young survivors of women trafficking with a goal to provide them holistic empowerment. She is a most sought after speaker, takes audiences on a virtual journey of the mountains sharing life lessons on motivation, leadership, team work and more. She loves to make others laugh.  She is a bilingual comic who performs Stand-Up comedy in Nepal and the USA. She also pursues her career as a journalist writing about youth and social issues. She is still very much in love with the craft of writing. She did her post graduation in Journalism from Asian Institute of Journalism, Chennai. She travelled length and breadth of India.