Who is Anshu Jamsenpa? Indian woman breaks record, climbs Mount Everest twice in a week

An Indian woman climber from the eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh created history on Sunday, 21 May, when she reached the summit of Mount Everest for the second time in a week.

Anshu Jamsenpa returned from the peak on 16 May after completing her first expedition, her team said and added that the mother of two has set a women's record for a double ascent of the world's highest mountain at 8,848-metre (29,028ft) in a single season.

"Anshu reached the summit of Everest at 8:00 am (0215 GMT) today for the second time this season, setting a new record," Dawa Sherpa Lama of Himalayan Adventures Private Limited that conducted Jamsenpa's expedition said.

It added that the 37-year-old started her second ascent on 19 May, climbing almost non-stop from Everest Base Camp at 17,500ft till 10pm local time. She stopped briefly before the final push on early Sunday morning.

Jamsenpa's husband and President of All Arunachal Pradesh Mountaineering and Adventure Sports Association, Tsering Wange, said, "God has answered the prayers of her admirers in Arunachal Pradesh and elsewhere in India and beyond."

Jamsenpa was reportedly blessed by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama before she left for the journey.

Currently, Nepali climber Chhurim Sherpa holds the title of the first woman to scale the peak twice in a season certified by Guinness World Records. She broke the record in 2012.

Jamsenpa's previous records

This was not Jamsenpa's first attempt at a double ascent. In May 2011, she conquered Mount Everest twice in 10 days.

Overall she has climbed the world's highest peak five times. In the recent years, however, she had been prevented from making the climb following an avalanche that killed 16 Nepali guides in 2014 and the devastating 2015 earthquakes that prompted another avalanche, killing 18.

Before going for her second ascent this year, Jamsenpa had said, "My only aim now is to unfurl the national flag once again atop Mt Everest and pay homage to Lord Buddha. I seek blessings and support from my fellow countrymen."

Traffic jams and deaths on the mountain

Every year, hundreds of people try to climb to Everest; however, this year, concerns are high as a large number of summit permits issued by Nepal could lead to dangerous "traffic jams".

Two people have already lost their lives this year, including legendary Swiss climber Ueli Steck, who fell at the foot of Mount Nuptse, in the Everest region of Nepal.

The latest reports have claimed that two more people have died on Mount Everest over the past month, taking the current season's death toll on the world's highest mountain to at least five.

The people who died include 54-year-old Australian Francesco Enrico Marchetti and 48-year-old Vladimir Strba of Slovakia.

Reuters has reported on Monday that Marchetti died due to apparent altitude sickness about 8,300 metres (27,230 feet) above sea level, while, Strba lost his life at around 8,400 metres (27,500 feet) in the so-called "death zone", on the Nepali side where the air is very thin.