So close to the top: How Dubai-based Indian resident came within reach of Everest at 72

Dubai: At 7,300 metres, the air is razor-thin, the cold unforgiving, and the mountain indifferent. This is Camp 3 on Mount Everest — a place known to test the strongest climbers on earth. For most, it’s a brief stop before heading into the death zone. For 72-year-old Raman Chander Sood, it was the highest point of a remarkable journey.

He was one camp and one final night’s climb away from the summit. But following the deaths of four climbers — two of them Indian — in the same week, his Sherpas refused to continue. Sood, they said, had already pushed the limits of age and endurance.

He turned back, but not in defeat. He had already achieved what not many Indians in their seventies is known to have done: reached Everest’s Camp 3.

Sharad Kulkarni became the oldest India to reach the summit, aged 60 years and six months in May 2023.

The journey began not on a mountain, but on a Dubai sofa in 2021. Sood’s 10-year-old grandson Umair walked in and asked, “Nana, what is your purpose in life?”

Caught off-guard, Sood gave the answer many retired professionals do: “I’ve worked, raised my kids, and now I play with my grandkids.” But the boy shook his head. “You can’t while away your life scrolling on the sofa,” he said. “You need a purpose.”

That night, Sood couldn’t sleep. “Around midnight, it struck me — Everest was always my dream,” he says. “Maybe this was a sign — a call from the divine, spoken through a child.”

Sood’s love for the mountains began early. Born in a remote village in Himachal Pradesh, he first trekked to 11,000 feet in 1963 as an 11-year-old Boy Scout. “We had no electricity, no roads. Just nature and the hills,” he recalls. “That trek changed me.”

Despite a demanding 40-year career at the State Bank of India, he managed occasional treks. But eventually, work pressures and family commitments took over. “There was a 20-year gap,” he says. “But I always kept myself fit for this day.”

After retirement, he and his wife completed the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. But Everest stayed in his mind.

A week after Umair’s question, a message popped up in Sood’s old trekking group: an expedition to Everest Base Camp and the Three Passes was being planned. Sood signed up immediately. The group was being led by Colonel Romil, a retired Indian Army officer and experienced Everest summiteer.

“At first, he was sceptical,” Sood says. “He told me I was too old. But I asked for a workout plan and promised to send him daily updates.”

Within two months, Sood proved he had the stamina and discipline. He completed the trek in 2021, climbing peaks like Kala Patthar (5,700m) and Nangkartshang (5,200m). Romil was impressed.

“He told me, ‘There’s still juice left in you, sir. You could take up mountaineering seriously. At your age, you’d be the oldest Indian attempting these climbs.’”

What followed was a string of ascents: Unum (6,111m) in Himachal, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (5,895m), Labuche East (6,100m) and Kang Yatse II (6,250m) in Ladakh — each one completed between 2022 and 2023.

“I had initially thought I would attempt Everest after two or three more years,” Sood says. “But after these climbs, I knew I was ready.”

He intensified his training: gym workouts, 12km jogs, 25km midnight walks with a 15kg backpack, and stair climbs — 5,500 steps with weight. “I trained six days a week, rested one. I’ve followed this routine for years now,” he says. “Your body adapts. But your mind must lead.”

In April 2024, Sood reached Nepal. With support from his children, siblings and a ₹500,000 sponsorship from SBI, he raised the ₹4 million required for the expedition.

He scaled Island Peak (6,165m) as an acclimatisation climb. Then came the Everest base camp, rotations to higher camps, and finally, Camp 3 — the last major halt before the summit bid.

But the mountain had other plans. In the days before his summit push, four climbers died near the top, including a young Indian who collapsed and never rose. Sherpas grew wary. “They told me, ‘Sir, we can’t go ahead. At this height, there’s no rescue. We’ve lost too many already.’”

The final 1,500 metres remained — a climb up the near-vertical Lhotse Wall to Camp 4, followed by a 12-hour overnight ascent to the peak.

“I was just one night away,” Sood says. “But the decision was made. I had to turn back.”

“Most people think mountaineering is about fitness,” he says. “But it’s 70 per cent mental. I’ve seen young climbers freeze, break down, give up at steep sections. Your body can be trained — but your mind must be unshakeable.”

That mindset, Sood says, has shaped not just his climbs, but his life. Whether facing corporate stress, personal loss, or physical exhaustion, his approach is steady: “Stay calm, prepare well, and never panic. That’s the key to going forward.”

Sood and his wife moved to Dubai in 2021 after losing their daughter to Covid. They now raise Umair, the grandson who inadvertently reawakened a dream. “His question changed everything,” Sood says. “And my wife has supported me through it all.”

He eats light, never overeats, and maintains the same weight he had in his 40s. “It’s not just about climbing. It’s about living with purpose.”

“That’s the big question,” he says with a smile. “My heart says yes. But Everest is expensive. Very expensive.”

Still, he hasn’t ruled it out. He’s open to support and hopeful that one more chance will come.

Even if it doesn’t, Raman Chander Sood’s story is already a towering achievement — a testament to resilience, discipline, and the idea that age is just a number when your purpose is clear.

And sometimes, the climb itself is enough.