Nepal quake: Mountaineer dies in Everest avalanche

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 27

Renu Fotedar, 49-year-old spiritual healer and ace mountaineer, has died in Nepal where she had gone to scale the Mount Everest. Renu was at the Mount Everest base camp and died in an avalanche triggered by the earthquake in Nepal. She had her roots in Kashmir.

Her trekking group, Dreams Destination, confirmed Renu’s death today.

Renu’s family lost contact with her on April 24 after which the family took to social media to trace her. Renu had gone with a trekking group to Nepal and was planning to visit Kashmir in September, said her family friend, Vinod Pandit, All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee chairman.

Vinod, who spoke to Renu a week ago, told The Tribune that her husband and two children were in Switzerland while she had planned to undertake an expedition.

“She was a mountain girl and loved to travel. She was also into spirituality and was an ardent follower of Lord Shiva. Her passion often took her to Himalayas. She used to travel widely and used to say that she will always carry the essence of Kashmiri culture wherever she will go,” Vinod said.

Renu’s family had visited Kashmir last year and wanted to visit Gangbal Lake and Bhaderwah areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

Renu belonged to “Dhar Clan” of Srinagar. Her parents had moved to Delhi after militancy broke out in Kashmir during early 90s. She later on studied management studies at University of Wollongong, Australia.

“She was a charismatic speaker and had established a holistic wellness and spiritual centre in Australia. Before settling in Switzerland, Renu lived in Australia. She had a huge clientele base from India and Europe,” said Vinod.

He said her travel plans for this year consisted of visit to Milan, Greece, Switzerland and Dubai. Renu’s parents live in Delhi and are originally from Srinagar.

Condolence messages poured on social media with many Kashmiris describing her as the brave daughter of soil.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, among several others, expressed sorrow over the tragic death of Renu Fotedar.