Aiming to become the oldest couple in the world to together scale the seven highest peaks on seven continents, an Indian couple has already climbed three peaks, including Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mount Vinson in Antarctica, and is planning to conquer four more.
Looking to accomplish a feat which would be the first for an Indian couple, the duo -- 49-year-old Sangeeta and 52-year- old Ankur -- has also scaled Mount Elbrus in Russia.
With plans to scale Everest by May 2015, the next summit on their list is Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, which they plan to take on in October this year followed by Mount Aconcagua in Argentina in February, 2015.
In 2002, American couple Phil Ershler and Sue Ershler became the first couple in the world to scale the seven summits together.
Pakistani siblings Samina Baig (24) and Mirza Ali (31), who conquered Mount Denali last month, are just one mountain away from scaling the seven summits.
While Ankur managed to scale the 20,320ft Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America in June this year, Sangeeta was injured halfway during their fourth expedition and had to be rescued by sledges.
"I had read somewhere that it is important to scale any summit, but also mandatory to come back. We were already at 19,000ft and I had a strong temptation to continue as we were just about a thousand feet away," Sangeeta told PTI.
"But I could not feel my feet at all and, fearing the worst, I decided to come back. But I insisted that Ankur should go ahead and complete the expedition," she said.
Sangeeta was later operated on for a torn ligament but that will not delay the couple's plan of scaling all seven summits before Sangeeta's 50th birthday in May 2015.
Though the love for mountains is not new for either of them, the idea of scaling the seven summits together struck them when the couple scaled Mount Kilimanjaro on December 31, 2011.
"I wanted to go to Kilimanjaro as it was my 50th birthday wish to scale the peak," said Ankur.
"The adrenaline rush we felt after scaling Kilimanjaro made us decide to go for the other six summits.
"But considering our age, the journey hasn't been a cake walk," he said.
