Before Nungshi and Tashi Malik set off to climb Mt. Everest at age 21 in 2013, they hid a letter in the back of a closet in their parents home in India. If they didnt come back, they wanted their mom and dad to know how much they appreciated their sacrifices and encouragement.They also wanted the chance to say goodbye.The Malik twins, from the Himalayan town of Dehradun, grew up hearing what they could not do because they were girls. They were drawn to sports because during their field hockey and cricket matches they felt free from this gender bias. Once they walked off the pitch they were laughed at by their male classmates.?Their teachers even told them there was no future for girls in sports.Their father, Virender Malik, had other ideas. He was the only boy born to his family in the rural village of Anwali in northern India. He had four sisters and saw the advantages he received both from his family and from Indias society.In village life parents consider girls as a liability rather than an asset, Tashi Malik says. The challenges that are thrown at a girl are like invisible mountains.The twins father could see these mountains, but rejected the concept of gender inferiority. He was elated to have two healthy daughters and against the wishes of his family and in-laws decided to not try for a boy.I realized the world was bigger than just having a son, Virender Malik says. We have to overcome our own fears and not pass them down to the next generation.As children, Tashi and Nungshi remember a man approaching their father and saying that it was too bad he didnt have a son.?From that day on we decided that someday we would do something extraordinary to make parents realize that they are fortunate to have daughters, Tashi says.When his girls were young Virender Malik took them on hikes. He showed them the majestic Himalaya Mountains that were practically in their backyard and told Nungshi and Tashi that there was nothing they couldnt do.He also told them his own story about fighting societal barriers by marrying outside of his economic class and by becoming the first person from his village to enter the military. These stories inspired them.So did the mountains.After the twins graduated from high school in 2009, their father signed them up to a basic mountaineering course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in India. Nungshi and Tashi excelled at this male-dominated sport. They discovered they had the right temperament and their bodies were perfectly?suited for extreme elevations. They also found that they could climb faster, longer and higher than some of their male counterparts.Mountaineering was a completely new world, Tashi says. It opened our horizons and we knew who we wanted to be in life.After climbing less than a year, the sisters set their sights on becoming the first female twins to scale Mt. Everest. This dream led to the loudest NO in their male-dominated culture, but from an unexpected source -- their mother.Nearly four years passed before she finally granted them her permission, and with this nod came the money to finance their trip, in part, from a loan she had obtained using all of her gold jewelry as collateral.I thought my girls were dainty and delicate, Anju Malik, the twins mother, says. But their mountaineering instructors assured me that they were made of steel.The 10-day trek to basecamp was transformational, and the twins began to feel connected to the mountain. Virender wanted to make the trip, but he spent all of his money getting his daughters there. He did so knowing that he might never see them again.When Nungshi and Tashi reached the Lhotse Face on their way to the summit, between camp two and three, they experienced something that changed their lives.Their Sherpa, Mingma, just one year older than they were at the time, was climbing a 75-degree gradient ice wall when he clamped onto a wrong rope -- it had been there for many years, was brittle and snapped. From the foot of the wall, the twins watched Mingma plummet 2,000 feet and disappear into a unfathomable crevasse.All we could hear were the echoes of his screams, Nungshi says. We became numb. We didnt know what to do. We stood there for hours not sure what had actually happened.Returning to basecamp, Nungshi and Tashi could barely eat, think or move. Four days passed as they decided whether to make a bid for the summit or quit and go home. They texted their father, who motivated them to keep climbing in honor of their fallen Sherpa and for all of India. With mixed emotions they pushed forward and became the first female twins to summit Mt. Everest.We were at 29,000 feet, looking at the sunrise from under our feet and it gave us a sense of belonging and achievement for our nation, Nungshi says. But even while we were celebrating, we had this troubling thought that this could be the end.After conquering Mt. Everest in May 2013, the Malik twins turned their attention to the highest peak on every continent and finished the Seven Summits in December 2014. Tashi and Nungshi, then skied to the South and North Pole, completing the Explorers Grand Slam on April 21, 2015.At the age of 24 they became the youngest in history to accomplish this feat. They were also the first South Asians and the second fastest from start to finish, man or woman.Mountains do not discriminate based on gender, Tashi says. If youre passionate about what you want to do you have to back it with commitment.The Malik twins now have their sights set on the Four Icecap Challenge, which includes Patagonia, Greenland and a return to the Poles, but they are equally focused on their mission of empowering young women in India.***In 2015, the twins were selected to participate in the U.S. Department of State and espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP), which matches female executives in the U.S. with young, emerging international leaders in sports. With guidance from Susan Cohig, a senior vice president at the National Hockey League, the twins set up the NungshiTashi Foundation, designed to help young girls in India obtain employment in the mountaineering industry.?Two of their many missions include pushing India to recognize mountaineering as an official sport and to look at the mountains as an opportunity to spark economic development in a region that is suffering stagnation.Nungshi and Tashi credited Cohig and the GSMP for giving them the tools needed to set up their foundation and to bring girls and sponsors through their doors.It was a revelation for us to meet so many women who were there to change the state of others and to make a difference in their own communities, Nungshi says. With the work we are doing, we want to open horizons for other girls to climb their own mountains.The hidden letter in the back of the closet was never needed. The Malik twins summited Everest and returned to show their gratitude by giving young women in India the same tools and opportunities that their parents gave to them.?Max Saffer is a Columbia Journalism School graduate and an avid golfer. He is working on his first novel. Follow him @maxavize Authentic NHL Jerseys . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. NHL Jerseys China .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. https://www.cheapnhljerseysjustwholesale.com/ . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. Cheap NHL Jerseys .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. NHL Jerseys . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. WASHINGTON -- John Tortorella had worried about Sundays game, the first matinee for the Columbus all season. He didnt want the Washington Capitals to get off to a quick start.The Capitals scored on Nicklas Backstroms goal barely three minutes into the game, but the Blue Jackets didnt fold and got a last-minute goal with Backstrom in the penalty box and escaped with their fourth straight win, 3-2 over the angry Capitals. Backstrom was called for high-sticking Nick Foligno with 1:34 remaining, a penalty that the Capitals vehemently disputed.Alexander Wennberg took a pass from Foligno and slammed it past Capitals goalie Braden Holtby with 54 seconds left in the game. The goal was confirmed after a video review.It was the Blue Jackets second power play goal of the game, and Washington coach Barry Trotz didnt like the call that cost his team.If you see the replay, he doesnt really touch him, and his head pops up when (Backstroms) stick is already on the way down. Thats just a little disrespectful to the game, Trotz said. The penalty call was not great for me.Backstrom, who also assisted on Alex Ovechkins ninth goal of the season midway through the second period, didnt think he touched Foligno.Last two minutes you get a penalty thats not a penalty, thats tough, Backstrom said.Columbus has its longest winning streak since they ran off nine straight wins from March 18-April 4, 2015.Sometimes it seemed like they took over the game more and more but we started to play smart and at the end of the game we felt like we played smart and got opportunity to score, Wennberg said. Find a way to win. Its as eeasy as that.ddddddddddddTortorella, who has eliminated morning skates from the Blue Jackets routine, talked to his team about the perils of getting off to a slow start.They score one, but they dont score the two and three where it can really knock you out in an afternoon game like this, really a morning game, he said. That steadied us a little bit.Ovechkins ninth goal of the season gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead, but the Blue Jackets tied it just 14 seconds into the third period on Brandon Dubinskys second goal of the season.Columbus goal by Foligno six minutes into the second period broke Washingtons streak of 15 straight successful penalty kills.Other than the disputed call, Trotz didnt find much to find fault with -- even though it was the Capitals second loss in five days to the Blue Jackets.They played a solid game. We played a solid game. Theres not going to be a lot of mistakes, Trotz said.Game notes Washington was without C Lars Eller and RW T.J. Oshie. Both have upper-body injuries. They were injured in Fridays game against Detroit. . C Paul Carey was recalled from AHL Hershey. . Columbus D Dalton Prout (upper body) missed his third straight game. . D Todd Jones (foot) was out for the sixth straight game. Tortorella says Jones is back practicing with the team, but isnt sure when hell return.UP NEXT:Blue Jackets: Host Colorado on Monday. They play five games in seven nights.Capitals: Continue season-long five-game homestand against St. Louis on Wednesday. ' ' '