Summit Up

Physical and mental fitness, the ability to stay together for three months and mountaineering experience were the criteria for selection. But the search for funds proved to be more difficult. “Our dreams almost got shattered when our expedition, originally planned for 1997, had to be cancelled due to insufficient funds,” recalls Kulkarni.

But they were determined to make the dream come true. So instead of philanthropic aid, commercial sponsorship was sought. And the expedition was planned from Tibet, instead of Nepal, because approaching Everest from Nepal meant paying a royalty of $70,000 for a group of seven members. Lintas and the Tata Group finally put them back on the saddle.

“But despite the changes, even this was not enough,” laughs Kulkarni. Friends and relatives fulfilled a deficit of Rs 18 lakh at the eleventh hour. After equipment was gathered from the United Kingdom, oxygen supplies from Russia, communication equipment from the State Police, and transportation, food and packaging, the team boarded the Gorakhpur Express from Mumbai on March 12, 1998.

From Gorakhpur to the base camp (Rongbuk Valley, at an altitude of 5,200 metres), the crew made a tough crossing over river and dale, mostly by jeep or bus. At Zangmu border, they were forced to halt, courtesy snow-laden roads. But they kept up a fitness schedule, not relaxing the regimen for even a day. “The most difficult part is the acclimatisation. Till a given altitude, the body can sustain itself, but beyond that, you have to be absolutely fit,” says Kulkarni.

The team was besieged with obstacles that lasted throughout the expedition. Mounting costs (they had a debt of Rs 35 lakh to pay off by the end), heavy snowfall, landslides, roadblocks, interrupted time-schedules… “We felt we were walking a tightrope – unsurmountable costs on one side and a towering 8,848 metres on the other,” sums up Kulkarni.

The actual ascent started from April 11. The loaded trucks had arrived at the base camp. The temperature was eight degrees during the day and minus four at night. So clothes made from goretex material, feather jackets, spikes, eye-masks were mandatory. Before embarking, a Ganesh puja was performed, and the troupe offered prayers at the Rongbuk Monastery.

The climb was slow but steady. In between, they made stop-overs to rest, which amounted to five camps in all. Not all members reached the top. The oxygen masks, premium commodities in the highly-rarefied atmosphere, had to be used full-time. Only the fittest and fastest could make it to the summit and back in record time – Chavan and Dharamsattu. The rest remained at Camp Five.

Chavan, along with four Sherpas, started the arduous climb, not knowing whether he would reach the top. It took a gruelling five hours, and at 12.15 pm on May 18, he found himself on the shikhar. And how did it feel to be on top of the world, for the half hour he was there? “Completely enchanted. Actually, no words can adequately describe the feeling. Happiness, relief, joy, sense of achievement…,” says Chavan.

He talked to Chief Minister Manohar Joshi from his walkie-talkie, expressing his joy. Photographs were clicked, as the only proof of the feat. The next day, Dharamsattu started the trek upwards and successfully reached the summit at 10.30 am.

The hardships were all pushed into the background once they had achieved their goal. Chavan attributes the success of this first Maharastrian civilian expedition to physical fitness and teamwork.

On June 3, the team was felicitated by the Government of Maharashtra, and an enormous load was taken off their shoulders, with the latter deciding to shoulder the debt. On July 8, the team met President K R Narayanan in New Delhi. A high spot in the climbers’ lives. And a deserving achievement.