Shillong: Rifiness Warjri, a student of St. Anthony’s College and cadet of 61 Meghalaya Girls Battalion NCC, became the third woman from Meghalaya to conquer the 8,848 ft Mount Everest.
An expedition team of 10 NCC cadets, with climbers having an average age of 19 years, summited the world’s highest peak on Sunday and successfully unfurled the tricolour there.
Twenty-year-old Warjri was the only cadet from the entire Northeastern region to be selected for the expedition.
She, along with the 38-member team, scaled Mount Everest at 4:45 am on May 18.
The distinction of scaling the world’s highest peak has now been achieved by a fourth individual from Meghalaya.
Prior to this, Gary Jarman Lamare, a Discovery Channel photographer, made history as the first Meghalayan to summit Everest in 2012, followed by Wansuk Myrthong, a police constable, in 2013 and Dolyne Kharbhih, a former NCC cadet hailing from the Ri Bhoi district, in 2016.
She also successfully scaled Mt Abi Gamin, a 7,355-meter peak in Uttarakhand, in August last year.
Rifiness, the third of five children, acknowledges her parents, Shlurbor Kharmyndai and Diamondsea Warjri, for providing the unwavering support that has been crucial to her success.
Rifiness’s passion for mountaineering ignited during her school years at Auxilium Convent Shillong through her involvement with the NCC.
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This initial exposure blossomed into a deep interest, leading to her participation in numerous NCC activities. Alongside her mountaineering aspirations, she is also a skilled Wushu martial artist and kickboxer, proudly representing her state in competitions.
