On Top of the World: Shital Mahajan’s Daring Dive into Everest’s Embrace
Pune, 13th November 2023: Renowned skydiver and Padmashri awardee, Shital Mahajan (Rane), has achieved a remarkable feat by completing skydiving in front of Mount Everest. Throughout four parachute jumps in the Everest region of the Himalayas since November 11, Shital has left an indelible mark on the world of skydiving.
On November 11, Shital executed her first parachute jump from an impressive altitude of 5000ft AGL / 17500ft, landing at 12500 ft at Syangboche airport. Guided by the legendary Wendy Smith, a skydiver from New Zealand, this jump marked a historic moment in Shital’s career.
With this inaugural jump on November 11, Shital accomplished multiple world and national records:
World Records:
- First woman in the world to skydive over three poles of the world—the North Pole, the South Pole, and the third pole of the world, Mount Everest.
National Records:
- First Indian civilian woman to skydive in front of Mount Everest.
- First Indian woman to skydive over three poles of the world—the North Pole, the South Pole, and Mount Everest.
The following day, on November 12, Shital undertook a flag jump at Syangboche airport from 8000ft, proudly displaying the Indian flag.
Accompanied by skydiving legend Wendy Smith and Russian camerawoman Nadia Solovyeva, this jump added another significant record to Shital’s list:
National Record:
- Highest flag skydiving landing done by a woman.
Continuing her extraordinary journey, on November 13, Shital accomplished a challenging jump at the Ama Dablam mountain base camp from an astounding 23,000 ft, landing at 4600m/15091ft. This time, she was guided by Paul Henry de Baere, a renowned skydiver from France known as the “oxygen man” in high-altitude jumps.
On the same day, Shital performed her best jump yet from 21500ft in front of Mount Everest, landing at the highest altitude at Kalapatthar—17444ft/5317m. Once again, Paul Henry de Baere served as her HALO instructor.
The records achieved on November 13 include:
World Record:
- Highest altitude skydiving landing done by a woman.
National Records:
- First Indian woman to skydive in front of Mount Everest at Kalapatthar.
- Highest altitude skydiving landing done by a woman.
Skydiving in the extreme mountain environment of the Everest region posed significant challenges. The logistics involved in high-altitude skydiving are intricate, requiring careful consideration of freefall, parachute dynamics, and weather conditions.
Shital expressed her gratitude to legendary skydiving experts like Paul Henry de Baere, Omar Alhegelan, Wendy Smith, and Nadia Solovyeva, who brought their extensive experience in high-altitude skydiving to the expedition.
The annual Everest skydive, organized since 2008, has become a renowned event, attracting participants from around the world. Suman Pandey, the founder of Explore Himalaya, and the organizer of Everest Skydive, played a pivotal role in initiating skydiving in Nepal.
Shital Mahajan acknowledged the support and sponsorship from various individuals and organizations, giving special thanks to Nita Ambani, the founder of Reliance Foundation, and Anant Ambani for their unconditional support.
She also expressed gratitude to Girish Mahajan, Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj of Maharashtra, Ashok Jain from Jain Irrigation, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, President of Aero Club of India, and Prashant Bagh for their unwavering support.
Shital extended her heartfelt thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, and Minister of Sports Anurag Thakur for their consistent support and encouragement.
In a poignant moment, Shital remembered her family—her mother Mamata Mahajan, her brother Harshal, her husband Vaibhav Rane, and her twin kids Vaishnav and Vrushabh—for standing by her through all ups and downs. She acknowledged the absence of her father, expressing the difficulty of the journey without him and believing he watches over her with pride.
