Harshwanti Bisht (62) elected first woman president of Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF

November 30, 2021

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Recently, noted mountaineer from Uttarakhand Harshwanti Bisht has earned the distinction of being elected the first woman president of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF).

About Harshwanti Bisht

She was elected to the coveted post on 20 November 2021 after winning 60 out of a total of 107 votes.
It is for the first time that a woman has been elected as the president of the IMF, which was founded in the year 1958.
Bisht who is 62 years old, hails from a village named Sukai in Pauri district, says promoting mountaineering and other adventure sports, and bringing more women into the field will be among her priorities.
Bisht, who has been honoured with the Arjuna award for her achievements in the field of mountaineering, said there was a time when Uttarakhand used to be at the top when it came to adventure sports like mountaineering but the scenario has changed in the recent years.
She pursued a course in mountaineering from the Uttarkashi-based Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in 1975.
In 1981, she scaled the Nanda Devi peak in 1981 which earned her Arjuna award.
She was also a member of an expedition team to Mount Everest in 1984.

About Indian Mountaineering Foundation

Indian Mountaineering Foundation is an apex national body which organize and support, mountaineering and rock-climbing expeditions at high altitudes in the Himalayas.
The organization also promote and encourage schemes for related adventure activities and environmental protection work in the Indian Himalayas. IMF has organized many expeditions to the high peaks in the Himalayas including Mount Everest.
Headquarters are in Delhi, India