Death Zone, Discipline, and Dreams: A Veteran’s Everest Story

In this episode of Women in Defence, we bring you the awe-inspiring story of Lt Col Pooja Nautiyal (Retd), who summited Mt Everest in May 2025 at the age of 47.

After 21 years of distinguished service in the Indian Army’s Corps of Signals, she is now posted in a critical arm of the National Security Council Secretariat. But Pooja also charted a whole new course—towards the highest point on Earth.

Her journey is one of grit, transformation, and purpose. She trained relentlessly—balancing motherhood, a high-pressure civilian role, and her dream to summit Everest. Along the way, she scaled peaks like Mt Kun and Mt Lobuche, faced harsh setbacks including a near-whiteout, and learned resilience the hard way.

In this candid conversation, she shares what it means to survive the “Death Zone,” battle brutal storms at -50°C, how she didn’t realise it but almost died and how she owes her life to her sherpa, witnessing the tragic cost of hesitation, and still finding the mental strength to carry on. More than just a physical feat, her Everest summit is a testament to the fact that women can achieve anything they set out to do…. and the power of reinvention.

Now, she plans to mentor women over 40 to dream bigger, climb higher, and believe that it’s never too late to rewrite your script.

Watch, be inspired, and share widely—because courage doesn’t peak. It simply climbs on.