B.C. woman wants to become youngest Canadian to climb the 7 summits

Twenty-three-year-old Simran Bajwa is well on her way to a very lofty objective.

“My goal is to become the youngest Canadian in history, both male and female, to climb the 7 Summits and the 7 Summits are the highest mountain on each continent,” said Bajwa.

Twenty-six years old is the current record. Bajwa is already more than halfway there after tackling Mount Kosciuszko in Australia earlier this fall, continuing to follow a dream she’s had for a while now.

“Growing up in the Okanagan, I was just surrounded by mountains,” said Bajwa. “Always hearing about hiking and being outdoors and climbing, there are just so many ways to find happiness in the outdoors.”

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A few years back, she was finally able to completely focus on mountaineering after some challenging years at home.

“Growing up, my Dad was an alcoholic and I pretty much only ever knew him as an alcoholic,” said Bajwa. “He’s been out of my life now for three years and that’s sort of around the same timeline as when my mountaineering journey started.”

Next up is the top of the world. Simran will set off for Mount Everest next April to try and make it number five.

“The next few months are about building, building, being able to go for longer periods of time, go for longer runs, go for longer hikes,” said Bajwa. “You just have to work on a really strong foundation in the first month. You just have to work on your diet, work on your cardio, work on building muscle.”

Bajwa hopes to set the record by the time she’s 25, so it’s not a rush. There’s still plenty of time to savor the views from the summits and the little moments on every single trip.

“Each step always teaches me a new lesson,” said Bajwa. “I never know what the next one’s going to bring, but I’m just so grateful for what I’ve learned on this journey so far and what I continue to learn.”