State girl rides high on adventure

BHUBANESWAR: After shining bright in hockey, football, rowing and athletics, now women from the state are making their mark in adventure sports as well. Arpita Mohapatra, an adventure sportswoman from Orissa, has been selected for the National Mountain Biking Expedition (for girls) 2011. The event, organized by the Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI), will see 100 girls from different parts of the country cover a distance of 600 km from Kullu to Khardung la on their bicycles in 19 days.
The thrilling expedition on high-altitude terrain will begin from August 19. The 27-year-old Arpita is a sucker for adrenalinpumping sports and is raring to go on the expedition. “Earlier, I have participated in trekking, mountaineering, paragliding and scuba diving, but biking on high-altitude terrain is new,” she said. The expedition will cover the world’s most hazardous and difficult mountainous terrain, passing through Rohtang pass, Lachung la, Tanglang la and, finally, the world's highest motorable road, Khardung la at a height of 18,380ft.
“Though it seems to be a strenuous task due to the rough and tough terrain, I think I will enjoy the trip as I am very fond of adventure sports. I am also quite well acquainted with high-altitude terrain,where one has to survive on low oxygen for long durations,” said Arpita,who is the first woman scuba driver in the state.
Arpita has completed prof e s s i o n a l courses in water sports and river rafting from the Regional Water Sports Centre, Himachal Pradesh , mountaineering courses from Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, paragliding from the Himalayan Institute of Aerosports, open-water and advanced open-water courses in scuba diving from Barracuda Diving, Goa. She is currently working as a swimming instructor at Kalinga Stadium here. Arpita’s mentor and guide, Susanta Das, said, “Since Arpita is quite familiar with adventure sports in air,water and land, I am sure she will complete the expedition successfully.”