Vadodara: At an age when most children are occupied with classrooms and cartoons, eight-year-old Nixa Barot from Gujarat is busy moving mountains.Nixa has become one of the youngest children from the state to reach the Mount Everest Base Camp, turning a childhood dream into a remarkable achievement.On May 23, surrounded by snow-clad peaks and freezing winds at an altitude of 17,598 foot, Nixa stood proudly at the Base Camp after completing the demanding trek. An avid cyclist and adventure enthusiast, she remained energetic throughout the journey.“I am very happy to have reached Mt Everest Base Camp. It was a tough journey, but I enjoyed every bit of it,” said Nixa, who hails from Banaskantha.For Nixa, the climb was about more than reaching a destination. “I am not here to conquer the mountains. I am here to learn how to protect nature,” she said after reaching the base camp.Despite rough weather conditions for a couple of days, Nixa completed the trek in eight days. She credits her preparation and love for cycling for helping her endure the challenging climb.“I cycle a lot and trained well before deciding to do the trek,” she said.Adding another special moment to her achievement, Nixa also performed yoga at the Everest Base Camp, spreading a message of health and mindful living amid the Himalayas.“It was a proud moment for her as well as our entire family. Achieving this at such a young age is truly special,” said her father, Nilesh Barot.Though this was her first trek to Everest Base Camp, Nixa is no stranger to difficult terrain. At just six years old, she completed the challenging Kedarkantha trek. She has also been part of a 62-day long-distance cycling expedition from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat.“My daughter underwent a month-long athletic training programme to prepare for the Himalayan trek,” Nilesh told TOI.A student of Shriram Govinda School, Nixa trained under Nisha Kumari, the first woman from Vadodara to scale Mount Everest.
