India's 'Everest Twins' Summit Swiss Alps In Women-Only Peak Challenge

India's renowned twin mountaineering sisters Tashi and Nungshi Malik, popularly known as the "Everest Twins", represented India in Switzerland's "100% Women Peak Challenge".

As part of the challenge, the twins summited two 4,000 m (13,000 ft) peaks in the Swiss Alps. The challenge was launched on International Women's Day this year as part of the women-only campaign, with an aim to encourage women-only teams to come together to ascend all the forty-eight 13,000 ft peaks in the Swiss Alps.

The Malik twins successfully conquered Mount Breithorn (13,662 ft) and Allalinhorn (13,212 ft),

Nungshi Malik said, "We are thankful to Switzerland for inviting us to represent India and Indian women in this peak challenge. We have always dreamt of scaling the peaks here in the Swiss Alps, because we had heard so much about them from our peers, and the Alps did not disappoint!"

"Both the peaks we scaled were in the car-free town of Switzerland - Zermatt. At the top of Allalinhorn, the weather was extremely windy at the top, and the temperatures dropped to -5 degrees Celsius. The mountain had lots of crevasses to negotiate in the beginning and exposed rock to climb towards the summit and was more technical than Breithorn," she added.

Tashi Malik said, "This was our very first time experiencing the Swiss Alps, the terrain here is so different to anything that we have done in the past especially in the Himalayas. But it was an amazing adventure for, the visuals from the top of the mountain just took our breath away."

She continued, "The climb to Breithorn was comparatively easier. We would encourage more women who are looking to step out of their comfort zones and try their hand at mountaineering, to visit Switzerland and scale these peaks. The sheer beauty of the Alps and joy of reaching the summit will inspire you to continue and become a seasonal mountaineer."

Over 400 women from across the world have taken on this challenge so far, including both seasoned mountaineers as well as women who have never climbed a 4,000-meter peak before.

"Inviting Tashi and Nungshi Malik to Switzerland for the peak challenge was an opportunity to connect global travellers, especially women mountaineers, and bring them together to discover all that Switzerland offers in its diverse landscape," said Ritu Sharma, Deputy Director, Switzerland Tourism.

"On the climb to Mount Breithorn, the twins were also accompanied by two more Indian women who are not professional mountaineers. We hope that India's representation in this Peak Challenge will inspire more women to try out the outdoor life by participating in high-altitude hikes, mountain biking and climbing or camping. Because we truly believe that there is no mountain a woman cannot scale, in the world or in her life!" continued Ms Sharma.

The twins also attempted their first ever multi-pitch ascent on Riffelhorn, which is at an elevation of 9,603 ft. The steep bolted routes, slippery rock and exposed sections pose different challenges in themselves and give the peak a climbing grade of 4A.

Apart from the climb, the twins also indulged in few fun activities like jet-boating in Interlaken, gliding across the dragon slider on Mount Pilatus, and visiting the Swiss Museum for Transport in Lucerne.