Three years ago, when she was just 11, she climbed Mount Kinabalu with her parents and that was when she decided to scale new heights — conquering the tenth highest mountain in the world in north-central Nepal.
The Sri Kuala Lumpur School student hiked one of the deadliest mountains in the world with her parents and nine other hiking members covering about 86km in total for eight days in March.
Speaking to Malay Mail, Kalirra said she found the trekking experience to the base camp a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” and enjoyed the different sceneries and making friends with hikers from all over the world.
“The hike to Annapurna base camp was beautiful although I had to walk about 10 hours daily for eight days straight,” she said.
“It was definitely a different experience to be hiking at -9 degrees Celcius, heading into dense bamboo jungles and conquering huge boulders under the thick snow.
“I even got to see Nepal’s national flower, the rhododendron, while hiking on the trail.
“My life philosophy is simple — I always believe that I should complete whatever I’ve started and hiking has always taught me that.”
Her parents, Ad Lincoln Wilson and Thanuja Darshani Jayagoda, both avid hikers, were initially worried about Kalirra’s health and whether she could hurdle through the eight days especially under cold conditions.
But their daughter showed no signs of exhaustion and was eager to see the different beautiful landscapes even after hiking for hours.
Both Wilson and Thanuja were impressed by their daughter's grit throughout the trail and at times, walking faster than everyone with their guide.
“She was the youngest member in the team and throughout the eight days, she didn’t experience acute mountain sickness, nor did she have any knee pain or injuries.
“In fact, we had to tell her to slow down at times.
“When she saw some elderly hikers who were struggling with the walking or climbing, she would cheer them up and was even walking at the same pace as our guide," Wilson said.
Her father added that despite the age difference between Kalirra and the other hikers, she was able to mingle well with them and exchange hiking stories.
Kalirra’s parents would often bring her for hill hikes to Puchong’s Wawasan Hill or Petaling Jaya’s Bukit Gasing when she was eight.
“She has been practising yoga since she was five years old to help her with her flexibility and muscle stretching,” Wilson said.
“She’s also a school runner and would loyally do her fitness training at home coupled with running and cycling exercises on alternate days.
“Our hiking team and us also made sure that we did intensive training exercises three months before heading to Nepal.
“We would hike Negri Sembilan’s Mount Datuk or Mount Angsi and smaller training hills such as Wawasan Hill or Bukit Gasing."
Asked about Kalirra’s future hiking plans, her father said that the family has their sights set on Mount Everest next year.
“Kalirra would also be training her younger brother, Varhan, for his maiden hike to Mount Kinabalu next year and they’re both excited for it,” he said.
