BENGALURU: Arpita Patra, a professor at Department of Computer Science and Automation at the Indian Institute of Science (IISC), is an inspiration not merely for her students but her colleagues as well, notes Bosky Khanna, of The New Indian Express. The indomitable woman is on a mission to scale seven volcanic peaks across the world.
Patra (41) has completed four of those peaks in the last two years. She now aims to scale the highest of the remaining three by 2026. The list includes the Mount Sidley, the highest volcanic peak in Antarctica, and Mount Damavand in Iran.
Professors in IISc said Patra is an inspiration like Prof G Madhavi Latha, from Civil Engineering Department, who was part of the team that worked on building the Chenab Railway Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir. Mountaineering experts said it is now a trend among people from different medical and corporate fields to scale summits.
“I joined IISc in 2014 and while working could not refuse the call of the mountains. I started gradually building my stamina, without support from any institution. I used to join trekking companies in those countries to get final training, guide and logistic support before acclimatizing for the summits.
However, I have undergone a 21-day basic mountaineering course at the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS) to build my endurance. On October 24, 2025, I scaled Pico de Orizaba (Citlaltépetl, 5,636 metres) — the highest volcanic peak in North America and the highest mountain in Mexico. I am the second Indian woman and the first Bengali woman to do this,” she said.
Patra is presently participating in a 10-day lecture series at Mexico’s Unam University.
So far, Patra has climbed the highest volcanic peaks in four continents--Africa’s Mt. Lilimanjaro (5,895m) in July, 2024, Europe’s Mt. Elbrus (5,642m) in August 2024 and Mt. Giluwe (4,367m) in Ocenia in May 2025. She is also the first Indian woman to scale Mount Wilhelm, the highest peak in Papua New Guinea and complete the half marathon held at Ladakh in September at an altitude of 3500 m.
“Pico de Orizaba was the most challenging climb. The ascent was technically demanding, involving glacier travel and a relentless 45-degree incline up the conical volcanic slope. On summit day, we gained nearly 1,450m of elevation, climbing from 4,200m to 5,636m via the Jamapa Glacier route on the northern face,” she said.
