‘Saw death up close’: Assistant engineer with PWD department is first Goan to summit Everest

Narvekar, 41, scripted history when he summited Mount Everest around 5.30 am on May 21 and unfurled the Tricolour, becoming the first Goan to scale the world’s tallest peak at an altitude of 8,848 metres.

“Mountain climbing is my passion,” Narvekar told The Indian Express over the phone from Kathmandu.

Hailing from Porvorim near state capital Panaji, he describes himself as an explorer and traveller. He has successfully climbed Mount Kamet (7,756 metres) in Uttarakhand, Mount Kun (7,077 metres) in Ladakh and Mount Kang Yatze (6,400 metres) in Ladakh. For Everest, Narvekar’s first summit above 8,000 metres, he trained for the past two years.

Last year, his daughter Gunjan, aged 12, had successfully climbed three peaks above 6,000 metres in the Markha Valley in Ladakh.

“Climbing is about endurance. While summiting, you have to often walk for 18 hours in a day where oxygen levels are low. Typically one has to train daily for five-six hours. I have travelled half of the country. I started with trekking first and gradually got into mountaineering in 2012. This year, I climbed with supplemental oxygen. In the future, my plan is to scale Everest without any oxygen support,” he said.

Over the past few years, with more permits being issued for expeditions and the window for summiting – when the weather is good – shrinking, overcrowding has become a concern. Narvekar, however, said he did not experience crowding as such.

“When our expedition summited, the weather was luckily pretty good for more than an hour,” he said.

He said Khumbu Icefall, which lies at an elevation of 5,486 metres and historically accounts for several fatalities, was the most dangerous and arduous part of the climb. “It is a moving glacier and has to be crossed during the night. One can easily fall into a crevasse and die,” he said.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant hailed the achievement in a post on X: “A proud moment for Goa as Pankaj Narvekar becomes the first Goan to climb Mount Everest! Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Pankaj for a bright future. This achievement shall inspire young mountaineers from the state.”

Pankaj’s father, Bharat Narvekar, said, “We are extremely proud. I could only speak to him for a few minutes due to poor network. He told me the weather had cleared up and though there were some challenges, he was able to overcome them and climb successfully.”