#CLIMBLIKEAGIRL
MATTERHORN PEAK CHILD’S PLAY FOR SRI LANKAN CLIMBER JAYANTHI

There cannot be a bigger challenge than scaling Mount Everest for Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala. The perennial question has been what next for the Sri Lankan mountaineer.

About two years ago she conceived the idea of the Matterhorn peak in the Swiss Alps while immersing herself in the frozen water falls of Himachal Pradesh in India.

“I was able to do some ice climbing which is a completely different sport. The temperature is minus 25 and the entire waterfall is frozen,” recalled Jayanthi.

Always looking for fresh challenges and pushing beyond limits, Matterhorn beckoned.

“I wanted to get better at climbing more technical peaks. I had to keep going out of the country because we have no snow and ice here,” she explained.

“In Sri Lanka the preparations is limited to strengthen my muscles. It involves a lot of sprinting and cardio work out like running six or seven kilometres in one hour. I also swim twice a week in the pool,” she said of her training regimen.

“For Matterhorn, I started doing more strength conditioning work as well,” she said in an interview before her departure on Sunday August 27 to Switzerland.

She is scheduled to arrive in Zurich on Monday August 28 and meet her sponsors Swiss Alpine Club before taking the train to Zermatt at the foothill of Matterhorn.

Accompanied by her Swiss female guide, she will climb two other peaks on August 5 and 6 to get acclimatised.

Her ascent to Matterhorn has been scheduled for August 7 and 8, to coincide with her father’s birthday who passed away two years before Everest conquest. Jayanthi herself turns 44 on September 3.

“I need one week so my body is prepared with more red blood cells,” said Jayanthi. The reserve dates to climb is August 9 and 10 after which she will attend a women and mountaineering exhibition in Berne.

Supremely confident when it comes to mountain climbing, Jayanthi has always used her position as an influencer to promote gender equality.

“For me what’s more important than me climbing this mountain, is the theme #ClimbLikeAGirl. Me climbing a mountain is no big deal,” she said.

“I’m using this theme to encourage girls. I’m doing it as a woman. I’m a girl,” she stressed.

“I think girls should be proud of themselves for running like a girl, for swimming like a girl, for cycling like a girl, for being a pilot or being a leader or being a CEO like a woman. I think we need to challenge these labels,” said Jayanthi whose profession is working on gender equality and women’s right on a freelance basis for the last 20 years.

There is no gender bias in her battle to break down stereotypes and cultural barriers. “I can’t be anything else but a woman. Girls should be proud of the fact that they are born as women and if they do any sport, are a leader of any company or anything, they can do that as a woman or girl,” she reiterated.

“I want to encourage girls because girls don’t get that opportunity,” she pointed out.

“Boys are not told not to play rugby or cricket or any sport. How many girls even do sport?” she lamented.

“But girls want to play. We have to create that equality. I’m telling boys, they have the opportunities. Let’s give girls also that opportunity,” she opined.

“We all have special skills and talents. If we are able to be who we are, we can be the best in that sport or in that field,” she said.

Sport climbing made its Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020. Jayanthi is doing her bit to encourage rock climbing by conducting local workshops. “I’m hoping that in the future we will have Olympians who are also rock climbers,” she noted.

Asked to describe her legacy, she said: “I know I’m a woman who has challenged stereotypes throughout my life. I hope I will be remembered for encouraging others to do the same, particularly women and girls, and also boys,” she said.

Her latest venture would not have been possible without sponsors such as SAGT. “We happy to be supporting Jayanthi in this initiative. We hope it inspires more people to do things outside of the norm,” said Udara Cumaratunga of South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) who is the Platinum Sponsor.

“Our role as a corporate sponsor really is to facilitate and provide springboard for Sri Lanka talent to showcase at the global stage. SAGT has come to be known as a sponsor of many of these lesser known sports that haven’t been supported in the past,” said former Sri Lanka rugby star Ted Muttiah.