"Every picture tells a story," said Peenesh Sanghvi, as he opened his laptop to show them to me. Two hours later, having browsed through most of his 400 or more photos, I felt I had climbed Peak Renok in the Kanchenjunga range with him. Yes, each picture had a story to tell.
Sanghvi, a Dubai-based strategy consultant, is clearly one of those who believes life begins at 40 and that's why he took on this challenge. An avid adventurer who loves mountaineering, he is also probably the only one who has travelled to India from Dubai by road in 1996. His recent expedition was, in his own words, "a further testament to this ‘I can do it' attitude".
Rigorous training
The photos depicted the 30-day expedition comprising rigorous indoor and outdoor training, the trek and the climb in vivid colours.
The week-long training in Darjeeling included rock climbing, abseiling, belaying, glacier walking, climbing an ice-wall (even 90-degree angles), self-arrest in case of a fall, use of items such as snow boots, crampons and ice axe. "For seven days, each morning we walked 17-18 kilometres with a load of at least 20 kilos to prepare for the trek. We would follow this up with yoga and climbing different faces of rock — straight, inclined and chimneys. I had to do an extra ten days of training because of my lack of experience.
Avoiding health hazards
"On the eighth day, we drove to Yoksum, from where we started our trek. I was the oldest member and this worked against me in many ways. I was always the last to reach the rest points and often experienced difficulty in breathing due to high altitude. Asthma and heart conditions run in my family. I have felt chest pains too. For this reason, a medical officer constantly trekked alongside me. However, though I was the tardiest, I made it a point to stop only at the rest points and not in between, for which I was cheered by fellow trekkers," he said.
But breathing and palpitations were probably the least of his troubles. "I had bought the best trekking shoes for this expedition but, somehow, they gave me blisters during training. These were so painful I had to walk in my sneakers the whole time. Halfway through the trek, some instructors even suggested that I return to avoid health hazards due to the blisters but I was determined. Each day, part of the sole would fall off but I kept going," he said.
"Here is when the true team spirit came in," Sanghvi says. Many of the trekkers were from the NCC (National Cadet Corps) and the armed forces. Three of his companions, despite their own heavy equipment, offered to not only take part of his load off him but kept a constant watch over him. They made sure he did not hurt himself while walking the treacherous mountain terrain in his sneakers.
"I offloaded some five to six kilos in Bakhim but would carry bulky items, such as my snow boots, outside the sack. As and when I found it difficult, my companions would take these from me and carry them," he said.
Each day the party gained height by 3,000-4,000 feet. When they reached 9,000-10,000 feet, they would rest for a day or so to acclimatise. "It was not always a vertical climb. We often trekked upwards, then down and then up again, crossing various mountain passes and valleys," Sanghvi said.
With height, the landscape changed too. While the team took a walk at 17,000 feet on the Rahtong Glacier, they also visited the Dudh Pokhari, a lake that never freezes, at around 15,000 feet, the day before climbing Peak Renok.
Sanghvi immediately captured a picture of the blue-green lake surrounded by snow-covered landscape. "The Dudh Pokhari or ‘Lake of Milk' is considered holy by trekkers as it never dries or freezes. And it had been snowing steadily since the past couple of days. For this reason, we had to delay our climb by a day or two. Snow can be very treacherous.
"You may have instructors and ace climbers but you are actually alone while climbing up a snow-covered peak or wall of ice. More often than not, if one goes, he pulls the rest of them down. And because of me, they often broke rules so I would be secure. Usually, one would belay when climbing up but one of the ace climbers would belay me when coming down. The standard gap between two climbers is a metre but he would stay next to me so he could arrest my fall," he said.
Love for mountains
During a trial climb at the base camp at Chauri Khang, Sanghvi lost his foot loop. "I hung by my waist for a good seven or eight minutes, trying to stretch and put the loop back onto my foot. That's when I was grateful for all the yoga I had done over the years," Sanghvi said.
This is, however, not the first time that Sanghvi has been trekking. "I am fascinated by mountains and my love for them goes back many years. I first trekked the Blue Mountains in Australia and later near Waivera in New Zealand. But the most interesting expedition was in 2007, when I trekked in the Aravali Mountains near Achalgarh at Mount Abu to track the wild bear. The Peak Renok expedition was different because here I was also mountain climbing. And what's more dangerous than going up a mountain is coming down it."
Double trouble
Sanghvi learnt it the hard way. He was asked to leave a day earlier than the rest from base camp to Bukhim due to his tardiness. "By this time my shoes were in pretty bad shape. I left a day earlier along with a medical officer and two other team members because we had to cover double the distance than we came, in one day. That's when I tore my knee ligament.
"Unfortunately for me, the medical officer had gone on ahead because we were progressing well, little realising I would hurt myself. I was crawling when a passing tourist helped me. The next day we were supposed to walk to Yoksum to catch our bus to Darjeeling. I was slow and on top of it there was an injury. So five Sherpas were assigned to walk back with me and in case my pain worsened, they would carry me on a stretcher.
"But I was too proud to do that and somehow with their help, managed to walk the last leg of the journey, even though I arrived last."
Sanghvi attributes his successful journey, despite physical limitations, to faith in God and meditation. But the purpose of this quest was bigger than the thrill, revitalisation or the beautiful vistas.
"This trek was not just to test my mental and physical capabilities but to get approval for my next expedition — to climb 23,000 feet to Kanchenjunga. My aim is to draw attention to the achievement of goals by mountaineers physically less fit and not only motivate people.
The trek
April 6-13: Training centre, Darjeeling. Seven days of training and acclimatisation at the centre involved rigorous exercise every morning (jogging, pushups, sit-ups, etc) and yoga followed by a rock-climbing practice or four to five hours of treks with full rucksack load.
April 14: Arrival in Yoksum, West Sikkim.
April 15: Trek to Bukhim. One-day stay to acclimatise. One person sent back.
April 17: Trek to Dzongri (13,200 feet). Caught in heavy gusts of wind at night at Dzongri camp. For three hours, the whole group struggled to prevent the tent from collapsing. One member went outside to refix the tent and got wet. Two days later, at base camp, he fell ill and was sent back.
April 18: Trek to base camp at Chauri Khang (14,600 feet). Stayed for ten days. Acclimatising and practising.
April 19: Practised climbing smaller peaks in the area. Practised self-arrest on not-very-steep slopes.
April 20: Trekked to Rahtong Glacier (more than 17,000 feet). Trekking from base camp to glacier involved crossing mountains of boulders, which was risky when covered with snow, as some people, including Sanghvi, slipped and narrowly escaped injury.
April 21-25: More practising at base camp.
April 26: Visited Dudh Pokhari (more than 15,000 feet) or "Lake of Milk". Offered prayers for a safe and successful climb with others at the never-freezing lake.
April 27: Climbed 3,500 feet from base camp to Renok Peak (16,000 feet). The nine-member team was led by a Sherpa and professional climber, followed by other members. Ruat, our team's second ace climber from Mizoram, was at the end of the rope to ensure there was no fall from behind and Sanghvi was tied second-last.
April 28: Return to Bukhim. Injured leg on the way. Learnt what teamwork was all about.
April 29: Return to Yoksum and then on to Darjeeling.
Tips
II Don't be overconfident or negligent during activities or climbing. It can injure.
II Drink enough water (preferably three to four litres). It helps you acclimatise better.
II Practise meditation and pranic healing because it generates energy from within and through natural sources.
II Above all, keep faith in God. It will keep you safe and help you overcome difficulties.
