We were one of the first to summit that morning. So, the crowd that was still coming up towards the summit made going down very hard and very scary. People who were coming up got priority so everytime you passed someone, you had to unclip, go around them and clip back into the safety ropes. As I was already tired coming down, it was quite scary unclipping everytime, especially at the very steep spots near the summit. I saw Mayk and Tim just below the summit. I passed Mike and Louis at the Hillary step. It was harder coming down that hillary step than going up especially when many trying to come up. I had to shout out to the guys to stop them from coming up before I could go down. I saw Jason and Eben near the South summit and I knew they would make it as well. I was happy that the entire team would summit. Awesome!!.
The view from the South summit of the last stretch (You can see people still climbing and the famous Hillary step)
Took a few more photos at the South summit and you could see how strong the wind was at the summit. As we came near the top of the steep rocky section, we saw a climber just sitting and practically sleeping. The guide was yelling at her asking her to get up and keep moving. We were stuck behind her for about 10mins until she gained the energy to move. The guide wasn’t being very helpful shouting at her either. We waited to see if we could help but another guide from her own team made it down to help her, so we decided to keep going. Hope she made it fine to Camp as she looked in bad shape. I decided to abseil down the steep rocky section and I missed the fact that the rope was stuck behind a little rock higher up and had some slack. As I started to abseil down, the rope gave away and I fell about 10 feet and hurt my elbow. Fortunately, it wasn’t that bad but I was in a bit of a shock.
At the South Summit on our way down
Just as I made my way down hard rocky section (strangely this part has never been given a name), I saw a Sherpa roll past me down the snow a few feet from me. He was not tied in and fortunately, he managed to put the breaks on before he fell off the Kanchenjung face. He was possibly trying to avoid the rocky section and come along the side of it, bad idea. The Sherpa was bleeding on his hands but he seemed more in shock than anything else. My Sherpa sat with him for a few minutes until he was ok and we left. It was quite scary to see someone just rolling off next to you. Thankfully, he had found a way to stop himself.
We made it down to balcony with just enough Oxygen left in our bottles. I finally decided to try and eat something as my throat felt better and I was feeling energyless. Changed our Oxygen back to the original partial bottle we used up to the Balcony and down we went. The weather had turned, it was snowing, visibility was low and it got pretty windy. Thank god, we were already down at the balcony. We were slow going down, taking many breaks but we were fairly out of danger and we were starting to enjoy the descent. Tim caught up with us half way down and I finally reached Camp 4 at about 2pm. A super long day and I was tired but hey! we made it to the summit. As I removed my shoes, I realized the damage on my toes. All my left toes were numb and my right toes were partially numb. I couldn’t move any of my left toes but they were not very discoloured. I was scared. Justin, our lead guide, checked my feet and said, they look more like boot ramp than frost bite. Phew!. We used the left over Oxygen in our bottles to rest, enjoyed our summit success and slept like babies. I was hungry but I could still barely eat. My throat problem persisted.
We made good speed until we hit another bottleneck. It didn’t seem so bad at first with only about 10 people in front of us but the queue barely moved. As I got closer, we saw the problem. There was a steep rocky section, with a slight overhang. It was taking people forever to cross that section. I remember there was a guy just staring at it and not doing a thing. Even worse, the guy behind was not shouting at him. We had already been stuck there for more than 20 mins and my feet were getting cold. I lost my patience and just yelled asking him to either move up or move out so others can go. Eventually, he made it up. It was certainly not an easy section but some of the guys in the front were just outright terrible. Fortunately, I had a total of over 40 mins of waiting time to mentally prepare myself and climb through the section a bit more gracefully.
Summit pic with the banner
By the time, I was over, I could see a queue of over 100 people behind me. This was going to take some time. I was just glad I was in the front of the queue. Once we crossed the rocky section, the terrain was much better. The slow rocky section distributed the queue of climbers ahead with big enough gaps. This helped us keep a good pace. I was starting to feel confident that I would make it. The sun started to come up and I could see the South Summit. I could see the shadow of Everest on the left. Just before the South summit, I overtook Ted and another climber. That took so much energy out of me that I fell right on the South Summit and had to take a minute’s break. As soon as I lifted my head, I could see it.
Summit pic with my Sherpa (his 4th attempt and first time to the summit)
The image that I had seen so many times in books and photos, the path to the summit. Everything came back to me. Until then, I had briefly forgotten where Hillary step was, where South summit was and how far they all were from the summit. Now everything was clear. I could see the top. I know I was going to make it. There were still a couple of tough steep sections, but I had absolutely no doubt I will make it. Hillary step wasn’t easy and steep, but we made it through just fine. After that, it was a smooth climb up. I could see about 15 people at the summit as I was slowing inching my way up through the final section. As I was about 5 mins away, I could see the guys leaving the summit, most of them were from the Tibet side. That’s when it struck me that there are people coming from the other side as well on that day.
My favourite summit pic
As I reached the peak, I had maybe a single tear struggling to come out but mostly I was in a state of disbelief. I made it, I actually made it to the top of the world, above the clouds after 55 days of a constant adrenalin rush. Here I am, this is it and its over. We were the only ones at the summit. I got my SLR camera out and it wasn’t working. I got my Canon D10 out and it wasn’t working either. Not good. Fortunately, I had spare batteries that I had kept against my body, nice and warm. Removed my gloves and changed the battery for the SLR, still not working. Did the same for the Canon, and finally, it worked. Phew!! My hands were freezing by this time, and just at that time, a climber from the Tibetan side came up. We asked him to take a photo of me and my Sherpa. Then, I took a few photos of Kaldin and he of me. But, our hands were freezing badly that we had to stop taking photos and put our mittens back on. My hands were so cold that when we were taking photos of the banner, I thought I was holding the banner firmly in my hand but it just flew right out of my hands. The winds were super strong. I looked out to see if there were others were coming up but the next person was atleast 15mins away. It was too long to wait; we were running out of Oxygen and it was getting cold. We had to leave and we did.
I would like to use this opportunity to thank my other sponsors as well and share a little about them.
JAIN IRRIGATION
Jain Irrigation is a company based out of South India. My uncle is a farmer and he uses their Irrigation systems on his farm which explains what they primarily do. The thing I loved about the company is that it has a deep-rooted concern for nature and makes a concious effort in designing its products accordingly. Apart from their main product stream they also design Greenhouses, manufacture Solar Water Heating systems and my favourite; Solar light systems. They make traffic signals that works off Solar power. Brilliant!!. More so, Kudos to a company that is making advances in Agriculture in a country like India. The industry is not the most favoured by young entrepreneurs but I personally believe it has so much potential (Everyone’s got to eat right!!) that with some right efficiencies introduced in the industry, a lot could be achieved. Check out their website www.jains.com/
Jain Irrigation logo at the summit of Everest
FITNESS FIRST
My first relationship ever with a gym started at Fitness First. This is the place where I went to the gym 10 times in my first year of membership. But, this is also the place that took a guy who could barely run 2km to someone who could climb Everest. A lot of credit goes to that place. Once my attitude changed and I actually started making the effort to become fit, that place became my sanctuary for relieving stress and becoming fit at the same time. I especially like the place coz it is never too crowded, good locker and shower arrangements and a perfect place for afternoon workouts. I was also able to use the gym in London when I was working there for a short stint. More so, I started off with their personal training session without which I would have had no clue as to how to use a gym properly. Definitely the best place to work out in Singapore. www.fitnessfirst.com.sg
Fitness First logo at the summit of Lobuche East
WILDCRAFT
The first time I came across Wildcraft was in Bangalore when I bought a backpack for a close friend. He still uses it everywhere he goes. Ever since then, I have seen so many people in India and outside India use backpacks from Wildcraft. I had always wondered why an Indian company couldn’t make good backpack and climbing gear and these guys are it. I met the founder Dinesh and he is a climber/mountaineer himself. He is very very passionate about what he does and that alone is good enough to help this company grow. I have used thier products and I am sure some day they will make it super big. Check out their website for thier products and they have outlets across India. www.wildcraft.in
Wildcraft bag at Camp 2 – Lobuche
TVS CAPITAL FUNDS
TVS Capital Funds is a Venture Capital firm focused on developing and nurturing India’s mid-cap businesses, especially businesses from emerging cities, into world class companies. Indians have many brilliant ideas and those ideas transform into businesses. Once the business start off into something substantial, they need funds to expand and establish themselves. This is where TVS Capital comes in. They focus on companies with revenues of Rs.30 to Rs.250 crores in sectors with consumer consumption theme and require growth capital. They also actively participate on the board and provide industry expertise for further growth. The fund itself is sponsored by two well-known companies TVS group and Shriram group. More on their website. www.tvscapital.in
I wanted to share a little bit about our sponsors without whom this expedition and this blog would not have been possible.
IndusInd Bank, our lead sponsor for ClimbEverestWithMe, was one of the first new generation private banks in India, started in 1994. IndusInd Bank’s name has an interesting background – an inspiration from the Indus Valley civilisation – a culture described by National Geographic as ‘one of the greatest of the ancient world’ combining a spirit of innovation with sound business and trade practices. Furthermore, the bank is at the forefront in ‘Green Banking’ with several initiatives towards sustainable development. In fact, IndusInd Bank is the first bank in Maharashtra to open a solar-power ATM. Very cool.
At Camp 1 with IndusInd logo on my jacket
The Bank is driven by state-of-the-art technology since its inception. Recently, the Bank bagged the “Technology Bank of the Year 2009” award from IBA in the private & foreign bank category. The Bank has a tremendous reach and enjoys a patronage of over 2 million customers. A network of 210 branches and 427 ATMs spread over 168 geographical locations in 28 states and union territories across the country with multi-lateral tie-ups with other banks providing access to more than 21000 ATMs is by far an excellent status. The Bank also has a Representative Office in Dubai and London.
With over 5000 employees on board, I learnt that IndusInd continues to enjoy the highest P1+ rating for its Fixed Deposits and Certificates of Deposit by CRISIL, one of the top rating agencies in the country. The feedback from some of my NRI friends is also that they are well known for quick and efficient transfer of funds across the world. The following were thier popular NRI services.
1. Indus Speed Remit
2. Fast Remit for NRIs in USA and
3. E-remittance from Doha Bank, Qatar and Union National Bank, UAE to IndusInd Bank
I am proud to be associated with this Bank more because they are very active in identifying themselves with cause-related socially responsible activities viz. working to help mentally-challenged and underprivileged children, promoting Indian art and culture by patronising eminent musicians and dancers from across India besides environmental related activities.
News Just in (Via Sandhosh’s Dad)- Sandhosh Kumar and team has successfully summitted the peak of Mount Everest, World’s highest one.
Sandhosh and team was supposed to be starting on 21st night and reach the peak on 22nd Morning, but the schedule was delayed by 1 day. They started the final summit last night and successfully made it to the top of the world today (23rd May 2010) morning.
Currently the team is descending from Mount Everest to camp2.
We’re expecting more updates and photos by tomorrow night (24th May) once the team reaches Base camp.
Thanks to each one of you for your wishes, support. We’re thankful to our sponsors, partners and friends for their support and assistance.
Sandhosh has taken up the climb in support of the cause against child sexual abuse. Please visit his website www.millionpledges.com and take the pledge against child sexual abuse.
Let us wait to hear more details from the man himself.
In my opinion, the biggest challenge to climb Mount Everest is the cost. It costs anywhere between US$30,000 to US$100,000 to climb the mountain. I am going to be paying US$55,000 as expedition cost alone. In addition to that, will be the costs related to personal gear, flights, visas, sherpa tips which can add up to $10,000. On top of that is the modern day requirements like using Cameras, Laptops, Satellite phones which can drive the cost even further up. Last but not least, the opportunity cost of not working for over 2 months can be expensive for some. A mountain by itself uh!!
Was it any different 10 years ago? No, the expeditions still cost about the same, so taking inflation into account, it has only gotten cheaper over the years.
So, why is it so expensive?
The two biggest components are the Nepal permit fee to climb Mount Everest and the Gear provided by the expedition organizers.
Nepal Permit Fee – $10,000 – I have always wondered why they charge so much. As far as I know, we get a certificate if we summit and the permission to be rescued if you get stuck at a lower altitude (without the permit, you are not supposed to be on the mountain and hence cannot be rescued) Expedition gear – This includes Oxygen tanks, Personal tents at Base camp and shared tents at camps 1-4, Lunch/Group tents, Kitchen tents, Fixed ropes, Extensive medical kits High altitude Sherpas – Nepalese who live on the mountain and have extensive climbing experience. Without their support, it is impossible to climb Everest. Even Edmund Hillary had Tenzing Norgay to support him. They help put up the fixed ropes on dangerous sections, put up tents at high-altitudes and accompany you to the summit. Guides/Team leaders – Usually western guides who have years of guiding experience. They usually make the decisions on when and how to climb. Their value is often seen only when things go wrong on the mountain and trust me, things often go wrong on the mountain. Doctors – Support is available only on Everest as many climbers often get altitude related sickness. Transportation – The only way to reach base camp is by hiking. For a team of 6, we carried over 140 sacs on Cho Oyu. Most of it is carried by the Yaks and some by the porters. The gear often comes by helicopter to the starting points (Lukla / Namche Bazaar) Food – Supporting food requirements at an altitude of 18,000 feet for 65 days is a logistical nightmare. Having sufficient food is crucial to maintain the energy required to summit Everest. Each team usually has a cook and a cooking assistant as well. Weather support – This is a very important factor as you get one chance at summiting. Choose the wrong day and you have wasted all that time and resources. Of course, we can never get 100% accurate weather reports, but you pay to get the best available info.
Why pay more when you can pay less?
Everest takes many lives every year but you can minimize the risk by taking the right precautions and some of that costs money.
The difference comes down to the:
Quality of Sherpas and Guides (more experienced they are, more they cost)
Quality of Gear (heavier gear means you climb slower and have a lesser chance of summiting)
Quality of food (you can save a lot by bringing less food but you may not end up having the energy to summit)
Sherpa/Guide ratio (Without a climbing partner at all times, you run high risks, in case any accidents happen. An ideal ratio is 1 guide per 6-8 climbers and 1 Sherpa per climber for the summit attempt)
Quality of weather info (a lot of money is spent to have the best weather reports. Companies analyze reports from thousands of weather companies every single day before a final report is received for the day)
Bottom line: The more experienced you are, the cheaper you can climb.
Child Sexual Abuse is a rampant problem in India that requires a great deal of attention but unfortunately is still a very taboo topic in India.
When I first started on this project, I received feedback that this is a very sensitive topic that will not attract much support and that I should pick a more popular cause like Environmental issues or Child Education. As I progressed further with my plans, I was often asked to use ‘Child Abuse’ instead of ‘Child Sexual Abuse’ to warm up the idea to my audience. In fact, even people who understand the severity of the problem often explained the same to others in a less straightforward and subtle manner.
Understandably, they are all correct and the culture in India demands a warmer approach but this is precisely the reason why I picked this cause. If I can raise awareness on any issue through my climb, I decided it should be about a problem that is least talked about. Hence, ‘Child Sexual Abuse’.
Precisely, how is the climb benefitting the cause?
There are two objectives that I plan to achieve through the climb – Awareness and Funding for the cause.
Awareness
1) It is not often that someone from the South of India climbs Mount Everest and there has not been a single Indian-Singaporean who has climbed Everest. This combined with the cause makes a great story for the media in both the countries as seen from the exposure this expedition has already got. This gets the message about prevention of ‘Child Sexual Abuse’ to a wide audience.
2) Besides the common media (Print, TV and Radio), the expedition is looking at social media as a strong tool for spreading awareness. Apart from the regular blogs (including live updates during the climb) and social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr) that will attract its own audience, the project has a unique idea of carrying a banner made of individuals photographs to the top of Mount Everest which will get people involved at a more personal level.
3) Climb Everest With Me is also working on a campaign called ‘We are Children’ (www.wearechildren.org) as part of which it will be creating an initiative soon to get a One Million pledges against Child Sexual Abuse which is another great tool to spread awareness.
Funding
1) There are a few organizations (check heading ‘Child Sexual Abuse’ for the organizations supported) already doing great work towards this cause but as with any cause, the fact remains that causes that have better publicity receive better funding. So, the objective of our campaigns is to build a network of more aware individuals and corporates that will provide a more sustainable income to these organizations.
2) Apart from the above, I am hoping to provide some direct funding to these organizations through the climb. A part of the funds raised through the banner and all donations will go to these organizations directly that will assist them in achieving some of their short-term goals.
Many have asked me what’s my training schedule like? So, here is a rough plan of what I have done and what I plan to do for the month of Jan. It is roughly based out of a half-iron man training routine with the swimming replaced by staircase climbing.
I had been running a half-marathon every weekend for the last three weeks but my legs are killing me. So, I decided to distribute my weekend schedule a bit more. Let’s see how it goes and perhaps I can pick it up again next month.
I will explain a bit about each of the specific routines in the upcoming blogs.
It’s been a while since I posted my first blog and for this New Year, the year I hope to reach the top of Mount Everest, I have given myself a new year’s resolution. To commit to blog regularly about my experiences leading up to the Everest climb. From my training activities to the struggle in obtaining sponsorships, I thought I could share with you the efforts that are involved in climbing a mountain like Everest apart from the actual climb itself.
Training for something like Everest can be quite demanding both in terms of time and commitment. I make up the time by cycling/running to and from work and using my lunch hours to go the gym. Commitment on the other hand is a harder one. There are always the lazy days where I just want to take the train to work or go out for lunch with colleagues or even sleep late on a Saturday morning when I should be training instead. I have realized the best way to overcome this is to keep talking to your friends and family about your training routines. Once you tell others that you’re going to do something, there is a good chance you’ll end up doing it, else you just become a guy who is all talk but no action. Applying the same principle, I have decided to put up my training plans and what I have achieved at the beginning and end of every week. And congratulations, YOU, as my blog readers will become the ones to make sure I stick to the routine and not get lazy.
On the sponsorship front, the New Year has come with some good news. I’ve got email commitment from two companies who have agreed to sponsor my climb. Together, it will cover about one-eighth of my climbing costs. I will tell you more about them once their cheque hits my bank account. But, their positive responses have given me the hope to keep on trying.
