Remembering Mountaineer Pradnya Mohite

With great sadness we share the news of the passing of Pradnya Mohite, a beloved member of our Everett and Seattle climbing communities. On March 6, 2022, Pradnya was on a private climb of Mt. Hood with another Mountaineers member when they suffered a fall. The team was benighted, and Pradnya did not survive.

Pradnya has been a member of The Mountaineers for five years and was a leader in our Seattle and Everett branches, volunteering as a Small Instruction Group (SIG) leader for our Seattle Basic Climbing course this year.  

Since joining in 2017, Pradnya has completed, as a participant or a leader, over 100 trips into the mountains to hike, rock climb, ice climb, snowshoe, and scramble. Recent trips took Pradnya to the summit of the Tooth, Chutla Peak, Teanaway Butte, Mount Ararat (in winter), Old Baldy Mountain, Ingalls Peak, Black Peak, and Davis Peak.

Photo by Ananth Maniam.

Pradnya graduated from Basic Climbing in Everett in 2018, and began instructing for the course the following year. She participated in numerous navigation and first aid activities, including graduating from courses to gain those skills. She  completed courses in leadership, nutrition, high-altitude travel, and volunteered with stewardship activities and for wilderness first aid scenarios. She also completed her AIARE I certification and the Climbing Self-Rescue course.

Pradnya was a member of our Peak Society, matching her volunteer hours through her employer, to double her impact. Pradnya was also passionate about philanthropy, volunteering to raise funds for Asha for Education by climbing Mt. Baker in 2016 and volunteering with them to help others achieve the same goals and raise funds. She inspired a lot of folks in the Indian community, predominantly women, to choose outdoors and helped lay down a path to do it safely.

Photo by George Reynya.

Pradnya was beloved by her students and peers. Here are just a few things they've said about Pradnya's success in sharing her passion for the outdoors with others:

• Inclusive, open, very communicative, continually focused on shared decision-making. Pradnya was so great about making everyone feel welcome
• Pradnya showed great judgement while leading this trip, along with [her co-instructors]. Obviously, it's a difficult decision to turn around early, and I'm happy that we made the safe decision given the conditions.
• Pradnya and [co-leaders] were the best rope leads a beginner climber could ask for! I felt safe and had fun.
• [Co-leader] and Pradnya were strong and thoughtful leaders. They led our small group at an appropriate rate and allowed time for indiviuals to identify and resolve errors. They were confident in their knowledge and decisions and created a fun environment. They were very professional and supportive toward the group.

Pradnya truly embodied The Mountaineers core values of community and education, particularly demonstrated in her SIG group leadership.  

Pradnya was also a passionate dancer, she used to say “dance is the drug that gets her high''. The very first year she climbed Mt. Adams, Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier, she performed with Pratidhwani along the same timeline. That’s Pradnya, always doing something, something meaningful. When she wasn't dancing, climbing, walking and bringing joy to the lives of her loved ones, she’d be pouring her love and creativity in the kitchen.

Photo by Dan Fleming.

Photo by Krishna "KD" Dase.

Pradnya co-leading a Rainier climb for friends in Asha. Photo by Ashish Rawat.

Pradnya  leading Mt. Saint Helens for Asha for Education. Photo by Rahul Kashikar.

Photo by Dasha Shcherbyna.

Our deepest sympathies go out to Pradnya’s family, friends, the Seattle and Everett climbing communities, Microsoft colleagues, and the other members of her community. Pradnya was a close friend and colleague to many of us, and we will be offering support to those impacted as our community comes together to process the grief of this traumatic event.

Main photo by Tad Englund.