Rarely do you find a Goan, that too a youngster, whose identity revolves around mountaineering.
And the 24-year-old boy from Margao is about up the scales so to speak as he is
on way to making history as the first Goan to try and accomplish this rare
feat.
Having spent the last six years working
towards his ultimate goal of becoming the first Goan to scale Mount Everest,
Rahul Prabhudesai has been in over seven expeditions in the Indian and Nepal
Himalayas as well as in Russia.
“Climbing big mountains is a test of the
human spirit and perseverance. I have tried to constantly push the physical and
mental frontiers despite coming from a coastal state, where high-altitude
mountaineering is still practically unheard of,”Rahul had said.
Having received immense support from Goans
and well-wishers across the country even, Rahul recently left Goa, travelling
to Lukla, Nepal, that’s situated at 2,860 metres.
Rahul, son of Dr Babita Angle and Dilip
Prabhudesai, who both have a passion for hikes and adventure sports, thanked
his parents for their encouragement, also expressing gratitude towards everyone
who came forward to help him raise funds for this trip, including the state
government.
“We are very grateful to the numerous calls we have got for
Rahul’s endeavour to climb Mount Everest. We have been touched by this show of
support and especially when we get it from people we may not know personally
but who tell us that they have kept Rahul in their prayers,” says him mum,
Babita.
Speaking about Rahul’s current status, she points out that they
are on their way to the Mt Everest base camp from Lukla and that the next few
days would be spent in various activities to help the climbers get acclimatised
to the cold conditions. This would also entail travelling to the commercial hub
– Namche Bazaar (3,440 metres) that is the staging point for expeditions to
Everest and other Himalayan peaks in the area as well as climbing Lobuche (also
spelt Lobuje), a Nepalese mountain that lies close to the Khumbu Glacier (6,145
m).
She adds that the expedition to Mt Everest peak (Earth’s highest
mountain above sea level at 8,848 m), will take about two months’ time,
depending on the weather conditions.
In preparation for this trip, she explains how Rahul had been
preparing ever since his last trip and that it has been a continuous training
exercise for the last so many years. She hopes Rahul’s attempt can serve as an
inspiration to other Goans.
“As a Goan, I wish to document this path from the sea to the
highest point on Earth. As a young mountaineer with a dream of summiting the
highest mountain, I hope to inspire the youth to strive with determination and
focus towards achieving excellence in their fields of choice. As a local
motivational speaker for young students, I keep emphasising the importance of
developing love for nature to help preserve the environment,” Rahul had said.
As a sportsperson since the age of six, Rahul has represented
Goa at the national swimming championships between 2005-2010 in breaststroke in
addition to winning the individual championships in numerous state-level
swimming meets. He has also played football for Vasco Sports Club U-21 and for
Loughborough University. He then completed the Basic Mountaineering Course at
Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in 2012.
“I hope not only to become the first Goan attempting to climb
the world’s highest mountain but I also wish to achieve wider objectives
through these pursuits of climbing mountains. Through this goal, I wish to
encourage and popularise extreme sports such as mountaineering, cross-country
biking and skiing, etc that a large number of highly talented Indians pursue,”
said Rahul.
Speaking about the preparation required for such trips, Rahul explained
that any average mountaineering expedition requires significant cardiovascular
training to build up the body’s capacity to consume oxygen at high altitudes
generally above 5,000m (16,000 feet) particularly when a normal day involves
trekking and climbing for over 6 hours with a load of 20-25 pounds on the back.
“Moreover, building upper body strength with focus on core and
back muscles is crucial for the long and repetitive days of climbing in the
mountains. Exercises such as flat-terrain running, weight training and the
general fitness oriented gym-training fails to develop the relevant muscular
and cardiovascular strength required for mountaineering. Instead, uphill
cycling, trail running, training with a backpack on hilly terrains make up the
core of an ideal mountain training plan,” added Rahul, who has undergone
regular fitness regime indoors due to training restraints in Goa such as
climate and lack of a natural training landscape.
However, to extract maximum benefits and increase the effectiveness
from a fairly mundane workout routine, he increases the duration and throws in
some High Intensity Interval Training sets.
Rahul recently climbed Dhaulagiri VII (Putha Hiunchuli), as
23,805 feet high peak in the remote region of western Nepal and was part of the
only team that made the summit in the 2017 season and is the highest altitude
mark a Goan has been to. This expedition stretched for over a month as compared
to the expected two-month expedition of Everest thus serving as a good
experience for Everest.
Rahul
who began his journey last month as part of the American team called
International Mountain Guides from Seattle, will start a month long
acclimatisation programme after completing his trek to the base camp. During
this programme, their gear will be ferried to higher camps. Early May,
depending upon the weather window, the team shall attempt the summit in a 5-day
rotation from the base camp. The climb involves setting up four camps between
base and the top of Everest. Upon completion; Rahul would have not only etched
his name in history but would have also put Goa’s name on the global
mountaineering map, making every Goan proud.
