Shayla wants to conquer it all

The pathway is famous for its hidden crevasses, and the weather has not been very friendly either. Shayla Parvin Bithi was tied to the main rope with two other team mates.

Before she could understand anything, she found herself in a hidden crevasse, and almost drowned in its water.

She was heading towards Lhakpa Ri, a 7000-meter peak near Mount Everest.

"I screamed for help. Luckily, my team mates responded immediately and dragged me out," said Shayla Bithi, sitting in her apartment in Mohammadpur.

She raised the national flag on the peak on May 17, 2018. Lakhpa Ri is very close to Mount Everest which Shayla had begun to dream of conquering as well.

"I was terrified, so they suggested that I go back," said Shayla, remembering her earlier experiences.

But she is someone who knows how to deal with challenges.  

It all began for Shayla in 2014, during a trip to Sitakundo hill which changed her life forever. She came across a few mountaineers and learned about the Bangla Mountaineering and Trekking Club that still holds a special place in her heart.

For a girl coming from a middleclass family, dreaming of winning the Everest is certainly an act of bravery. When others cheer for her, her family gets scared. And there is the constant worry of money.

This year she is just back from another expedition to Tashi Lapcha Pass, a 5000-meter pass in Nepal that is famous for its difficulty rather than its altitude.

Shayla's team of four, which included M A Muhit, another Everest conqueror (2011), was the first Bangladeshi group to reach the pass.

"After Tashi Lapcha, I am now more determined to conquer Mount Everest," Bithi told The Business Standard this August. She knows that it'll be harder for her because she is not with the club anymore at present.

In the year 2015 she went to the base camp of Keyaju-Ri peak, which is 15,500 feet above sea level. There she realised that despite being a plain's girl, she finds comfort in mountains.

So, Bithi went to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in May 2016 for training, and qualified for Everest with an "A" grade.

Immediately after that she started for Mera Peak in October. Standing on the peak at 6,474 meters, all she could see was white mountain tops. She bowed to the mountains, to creation, and started crying when she realised her own insignificance in the midst of such grandeur. 

Shayla knew she had to come to the mountains again. She started for Larke in 2017, but had to come down after climbing 5,500 meters because of bad weather.

This is where she feels the need of a mountaineering board and proper funding, such as the ones that exist for Football and Cricket. She feels mountaineering is the least recognised sport here despite being the most expensive worldwide.

Shayla said, "Whenever we conquer something, we get some crests and appreciation which last for a few days. We should have proper arrangements so that we can produce more Nishat Majumdars, Wasfia Nazreens and M.A Muhits, and so that others like me can fulfil our dreams.