4 min readPuneJun 17, 2026 02:40 PM IST
First published on: Jun 17, 2026 at 12:30 AM IST
When this 56-year-old Insurance and Investments Consultant from Pune reached the Everest Base Camp in October 2022, he had brought more than a backpack. Yogesh Lahoti was carrying three stents in his heart.
Lahoti says mountains were always calling him loudly because he did not want his heart condition to decide what he could not do. “People with perfectly healthy bodies often turn back from challenges,” he says.
It is one thing to climb Sinhagad Fort every weekend, walk and run more than 27 km to Alandi every month, complete half-marathons and cycle the Pune-Mumbai route, and quite another to stand in the shadow of the world’s highest peak. Most trekking and mountaineering companies refuse clients like Lahoti, who have a medical history. So, Lahoti reached for the number of a new startup in Pune, Sagarmatha Explorers.
Shreekant Dhumale, 51, the founder of Sagarmatha Explorers, told Lahoti, “Don’t worry, we will be able to do it”. “Then, the preparation started and it has become an integral part of my life now. If Shreekant had not been there, would I have been able to go to the Everest Base Camp? I don’t think so. Now, I wish to do this once more and reach the Everest Base Camp through a different and difficult route. I will go with Sagarmatha,” says Lahoti.
Sagarmatha, named after the Indian and Nepali name of Mt Everest, also travels to Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Kailash. Dhumale is a former partly-jaded IT professional who is motivated by a love of the outdoors, fitness and sports. He sees no reason to refuse anybody who dreams of undertaking an adventure of a lifetime.
What makes many of Sagarmatha’s journeys unusual are the participants. People with diabetes, asthma, ligament issues and a liver transplant recipient are some of the climbers. Dhumale is also popular with senior citizens and young aspirants. His wife and co-founder of Sagarmatha, too, had no trekking experience and was asthmatic and diabetic but enjoyed the journey to the Everest Base Camp.
Sagarmatha took its first step when some of Dhumale’s friends, who were tired after sedentary lockdowns, approached him with a plan to reach the Everest Base Camp. Most were first-time trekkers and over 40. In September 2022, Dhumale led his first batch of 22 participants. Since then, he has been out there many times with different groups.
“When people, who have no exposure to fitness, decide to do the Everest base Camp, they know that the goal is demanding. Every person is motivated. Whenever a person joins, we create a programme around them on day one. These are customised programmes because every person has a different fitness level. We ask that participant to take the support of a coach. We give a program to the coach and ensure they run that programme diligently. We follow-up every week or 15 days,” says Dhumale.
One of the methods is to “create a community”. “We motivate the participants. We follow up with the people physically and mentally, and create a setup where the person can easily achieve their goal,” he says. He takes four batches every year to the Everest Base Camp, Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Kailash, with prices starting at Rs 1.5 lakh.
The bulk of his clients are drawn to him by word of mouth. “Our goal is to get 100 people on board this year. We have already crossed more than 50 per cent and are confident that we will achieve the target in the remaining six months,” says Dhumale.
Dhumale's wife and co-founder of Sagarmatha, too, had no trekking experience and was asthmatic and diabetic but enjoyed the journey to the Everest Base Camp. (Express Photo) 
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