Abu Dhabi: Five school children from the UAE – aged between 8 and 11 – have scaled a 12,900-foot mountain in India’s Himalayan region.
The children were accompanied by their fathers in the ‘Baap-Beta Trek’ (Father-Son Trek), as the trip was called.
The father-son pairs conquered the famous Chandrashila summit in Uttarkhand in northern India. The trek, which was undertaken in the first week of May, took five days and had 25 other participants from across India.
Family adventure
“It was a great adventure with my dad. It was scary at times but I had loads of fun,” said Shaunak, 10, who trekked with his father Manoj Munishwar, a project manager with a private firm in Abu Dhabi.
Eleven-year-old Rohan said there were moments when he thought he would not make it to the top. “While we were climbing the last mountain, it started raining suddenly. It got really slippery and there were ice caps too. It was really tough,” said Rohan who studies at Abu Dhabi Indian School.
Atharva Rande, 9, and his father Ajit Ranade, Avaneesh Velankar, 11, and his father Mandar Velankar, Vaibhav Waghaye, 10, and his father Samrat were the other participants from the UAE.
The men said though the trek was moderately difficult, it got more challenging because of the presence of the kids who were undertaking such a challenge for the first time.
“While trekking in the Himalayas you do not know what to expect. So it was indeed a tough decision to bring along the kids. But we really wanted them to have an experience that they haven’t had in the UAE,” said Munishwar.
Rohan’s father Dr. Rajesh Jain who works for a private hospital in Abu Dhabi, said it was a great bonding experience with his son.
“Initially my wife was opposed to the idea as she thought it was too risky,” said Jain. And indeed it was. “We encountered frequent weather changes. The strong winds made the climb all the more cumbersome. On top of that, it was snowing and we were hit by hailstorms too,” said Dr. Jain.
“But all the hard work and prior training paid off as the kids easily trekked for seven to eight hours daily to cover the distance. In fact, they were more enthusiastic than their fathers,” he added.
