There is a saying called "like climbing a mountain" to define a difficult task as almost impossible because everybody knows that climbing a mountain is not everyone's cup of tea, and climbing the world's tallest mountain – Everest – feels like a distant dream. But for Saanika Shah, who dedicated five years to nurturing this dream, accomplishing this surreal milestone was never in doubt, which she fulfilled on May 20, 2026.
Her journey from a 17-year-old normal teenage girl to the one who climbed the tallest mountain in the world consists of hard work, discipline, consistency, balance and sacrifices, which she shared with us in an exclusive interview with TMM India. Let's delve into her inspiring journey that is sure to encourage and make you proud.
A moment that gave birth to the dream of summiting Mount Everest one day
At 17, when children usually would not be able to decide their stream in academics, Saanika set a goal of summiting Mount Everest. "I watched this Everest movie. It's based on a 1996 disaster story and a true story in which 11 people end up dying. And that movie kind of inspired me, like, oh, you know what? I also want to climb Everest," said Saanika.
A major decision that was about to shape her life, but before climbing the mountain, she needed to get approval from her parents, which felt like the very first step toward her dream. She described it as "It's just when you tell your parents that, oh, I want to do acting — first of all, that's a strict no. And then you tell them, 'I want to climb mountains. 'That's another no. But they kind of understood that, okay, you want to do it. Go for it." Her parents' support further strengthened her mindset toward the goal that became the cornerstone of her life, which she pursued with all her might for the next couple of years and emerged as a victor at a very young age.
The expedition that changed her view toward life
Everest has a way of humbling the climber with its gigantic size and life-threatening risks, which Saanika found out on her expedition. Before that, her take on the dangers of climbing was, "Back then I used to think that, oh no, I am not scared of death. The rest of the people waiting down there will see if anything happens, but not until I go there and kind of experience what I had. I truly started valuing human life." This change of perspective played a pivotal role in her summit; with the awareness of what was at stake, her every decision was thoroughly measured, which led to her safe return from Everest.
The motivation that kept her vigilant on the descent.
After reaching the peak of Everest, her happiness had no bounds. She was enjoying each moment and reflecting on five years of training and hard work that had made this dream possible. But she knew that this was only half of the work she had completed, and the other half required her to descend safely to the ground. Reuniting with her family became the beacon that guided her back down. She said, "After the summit, you are just so exhausted. And your body is basically shutting down because it is so tired. And family was kind of the motivation that kept bringing you down the mountain."
The journey that forged a new bond and a birthday celebration away from the family
While staying away from family and spending so many days away from home felt difficult, Saanika managed to deal with these feelings as the people around her grew into a family of their own. "All of my expedition people were from different parts of the world, like the USA, the UK, and Norway, and all of them were present. But by day 2, you just kind of already were so vulnerable with them. And it feels like a family. So I would say I didn't feel that type of loneliness at the start. Because it was new, I was really enjoying it," she said.
However, the feeling of sorrow followed on her 22nd birthday, on 12th May, far away from family — it was the first time she was celebrating this day without them around. Though everybody in the camp ensured it was memorable by bringing a blueberry cake and candles, the lingering memory of her earlier celebrations made her emotional. But she held on to the purpose behind it all: "I knew that they were proud of me. A few more days and I will give them my summit," said Saanika.
Youngest and first Indian woman to climb Himlung Himal
Being the first and youngest woman to climb Himlung Himal was never the goal for her — it was something that followed naturally along with the process of chasing her dream of summiting Mount Everest. The Himlung Himal was a final stepping stone to decide whether she was ready for Everest or not; once she had climbed it, she would set out on an expedition to Mount Everest within five months. On being told the news, she said: "I had no idea that something like this was going to happen. As I summited and came back to the base camp, they told me, 'Oh, you are the youngest Indian and the first Indian woman to climb it. 'I was like, 'Oh, what a surprise." '
A tribute to Sagarmatha Devi
Before the expedition began, there was a ceremony all climbers took part in – a prayer to the mountain goddess Sagarmatha to let them pass safely. For Saanika, it meant something far deeper: "Everest has been that one thing in my life that kind of really kept me disciplined and on my path for the last five years. I mean, as a teenage kid, you're so distracted here and there. And this was that one thing that always got me back to my circle. So, like, whatever hard work I did for five years, I kind of felt like I owed this to her," said Saanika.
The Bharatanatyam was her tribute to Sagarmatha for shaping her life. Performing it at 17,500 feet, where even simple walking leaves you breathless, she explained the process: "I got ready, and remember, my hands were getting so numb while wearing the ornaments and makeup, and I had just removed all the warm layers possible from my body. So that was kind of difficult. Also, I decided that I would do these three minutes of dance with a mat over the ground, as the ground was very uneven — that included one minute of Ganpati and just two minutes of bowing down to the mountain. The hardest part was that this ceremony was done super early in the morning." Her reverence and prayer were both answered when she successfully summited and came back safely.
Balancing college, acting training, and mountaineering
The three years that followed were, by Saanika's own admission, the hardest of her life. Pursuing a degree in a film institute and preparing for mountain expeditions left almost no room for anything else. "Every single day I couldn't afford to miss a lecture because there were shoots, rehearsals or we had to write a script or something," she recalled. Theatre rehearsals alone would stretch to nine or ten hours a day in the weeks leading up to a performance, and at the back of her mind was always the next expedition deadline.
The sacrifice that made everything else possible was social — she stopped attending house parties, birthday gatherings, and casual hangouts entirely. Friends began to notice. "My friends used to tell me that, man, you are so serious in life. If you don't miss a training session for a day, what will happen?" she said. But for Saanika, every missed session carried a weight that went beyond that day. "In the near future, I want to go and climb Everest. So every training session would be with that aim." She made peace with the distance it created and found that the people who had gone quiet during those years were among the first to message when she summited. Looking back, she says simply: "This was worth it."
A journey that became an inspiration for the youth
When asked what she wants others to learn from her story, Saanika's answer is not what most would expect. It is not a single-minded call to sacrifice everything for one dream — it is, in fact, the opposite. "My message is that if you have two or three passions in your life, there are 24 hours in a day — you will always find time for what you really, really want to do," she said. At no point was she willing to let go of her mountains, her dance, or her acting. She found a way to hold all three.
The real shift she wants in young people is not ambition — it is honesty about how time is actually being spent. "If you wake up early on Sunday, you can get so many things done. Don't go to a house party on a Saturday and then say you don't have time for a dance class," she said with a laugh. The underlying message is clear: wanting something and making time for it are the same decision, and the excuses in between are a choice. "If you are really doing something you love, why do you need a break?"
A long road ahead to pursue
For someone who has spent five years in singular pursuit of one summit, the question of what follows is a natural one. For Saanika, the answer reveals the same balance that has defined her throughout. "I always had a dream — once when I started acting and, at the same time, climbing the mountain — that I wanted to be defined as a unique blend of an artist and athlete," she said. Acting and dance, which had taken a back seat during the intensive final year of training, are now being resumed. A documentary of her Everest expedition, shot on real-time footage from the mountain itself, is also in production and being shared with casting directors.
But the mountains are not behind her. "Climbing is not going to leave me. That's for sure." At 22, with Everest summited, a film school degree in progress, and an Everest documentary on its way, Saanika Shah is not winding down. She is, by every indication, just beginning.
