Doc’s Operation Everest

on May 20.

It all started for Lala in 2008 when he went for a Himalayan car rally in Ladakh along with his wife Mamatha Lala,an experience which he believes brought him closer to the mountains. But hectic work schedules meant that it was not before 2010 that Lala thought about Mt Everest.

As part of his preparation,Lala went with a Canadian group called Peakfreaks for the summit of three peaks in Nepal last year and the following months saw the Doctor applying for the permit to climb the highest peak in the world in April this year. It was not before Lala spent three hours jogging each day for a continuous six months and training in the high altitude studio in Juhu,Mumbai to undergo high-peak training. “My work meant that I could not train much in the mountains. When I heard about peakfreaks through a friend,I contacted them and as a part of training,we climbed Island Peak,Mt Pokalde and Mt Lobuche last year. Then some friends told me about this high altitude training studio in Juhu and I started training there. It was a pressurized chamber and I would train for an hour daily. I would do surgeries in the morning and later go for training,” shared Lala,who is son of retired Indian Air Force Air Vice Marshal ES Lala.

Lala’s group started the climb in the first week of May and reached the summit on May 20. Apart from the initial hiccups,Lala’s group,which included students from Canada and Australia,successfully climbed the summit and Lala was in touch with his adventure enthusiast wife through his blog. Mamatha was a part of the Indian scientific expedition to Antartica for six months in 2011 and Lala says their next plan could be climbing a peak together.

“I had seen or read about Mt Everest in books or in videos which were made by climbers whom we met at base camp. But nothing can beat the real challenge. When we reached Lukla in Nepal in April this year,I was a little nervous. My climbing group included students from Canada and Australia and we would do small treks around Base Camp-I. My wife was in constant touch with us through my blog and she would also give her inputs regarding the climb,’ shared the doctor.

Lala spent more than 30 lac for the climb and apart from a partial funding by his hospital,the doctor arranged funds on his own. But if Lala is to be believed,it’s the feeling of having conquered the world’s highest peak,which he will remember his whole life. “The first thing which I felt on reaching the summit was of relief. There is hardly any time to relax as one has to start the descent. But then I clicked some pictures for my wife. When she had gone to Antarctica,she had kept me updated regularly and it was as if I was at Antarctica. We wish to climb a peak together and I am sure it will soon happen,” signed off Lala.