In a hurry to get to the top

Two teenagers have set out on an attempt to become the youngest Indians to climb Mount Everest

Mountaineering may not beher main passion butBhagyashree Sawant anational-level athlete,cyclist and rugby player,and an international-level karate player has set herself a tall target. Andshe's determined to climb up to it.

The 18-year-old student of computerscience at MD College, Mumbai, isvying to become the youngest Indianwoman to climb Mount Everest. Askher about the attempt, and she says,"I've done some climbing before. Butthe Everest is different from all of them.It's just so much more exciting!"

Sawant is travelling with inspiringcompany. Her companions include 16-year-old Arjun Vajpai, who will be theyoungest Indian to have climbed MtEverest if he summits successfully.Leading the expedition is Apa Sherpa,who holds the record forclimbing Everest the mosttimes. This will be his 20th ascent.

Vajpai, who's a student of RyanInternational School in Noida, joinedNehru Institute of Mountaineering soonafter his Class 10 board exams. A fewmonths and a couple of courses later,his instructors deemed him capable ofsummiting the highest peak in theworld.

Vajpai had been trekking to theSahyadris earlier, and his experiencefrom there helped him with his firsthigh-altitude climb to the Draupadi kaDanda 2 (DKD2) last October. Once ontop, he became the youngestperson to have scaled thepeak. And there has beenno looking back. Or down.

Although his parents wereconcerned for him, he alleviatedtheir apprehension by promisingthem that he'd take thingsone step at a time. "And now,eight months later, he's climbing theEverest. We know he's fit because duringDKD2, he didn't suffer fromheadaches or show symptoms of highaltitudesickness," says his mother PriyaVajpai.

Training for the climb
Sawant's summit attempt began inFebruary 2009 when she met GauravSharma, who's now her endurance trainingcoach, and joined his team forEnduro3, the annual endurance race inPune. Sharma, a martial arts trainerfor the Mumbai police, had been scoutingfor a female athlete to meet therequirements of the race. "They foundme fit enough to perform, and we beganto practice sprinting and long distancerunning together," says Sawant.

Following the race, Sharma beganencouraging Sawant to give the8,848-metre peak a shot. What workedin her favour was the fact that she'dbeen an athlete all her life andwouldn't have to preparetoo hard. She continuedwith the same exerciseregime under Sharma'sguidance, and took abouttwo months to gear up.

Vajpai's training for theclimb also included yoga toincrease flexibility and cardio forimproving lung power. His instructoralso made him undertake arm, calf andback exercises, and put him on a diethigh in protein and carbohydrates.

"He found it difficult to get used toit at first, but his passion helped himgo on. I keep telling him that there'salways a second chance, but he's nevertense about the climb," says his mother.The final go-ahead, however, wasgiven only after the doctors were consulted,especially keeping his age inmind.

At the foothill of a record
Vajpai is already at Everest basecamp,having successfully completed his acclimatisationclimb of Island Peak andacquired another record in the process.Asked what makes him seek such dangerousthrills, he said, "The rush youfeel at the summit is something thatmakes you want to go back. You getaddicted to the view that you can't capturefrom a camera."

Sawant is set to join the rest of theteam once she climbs Island Peak a fewdays from now. Meanwhile, she's beenimproving her agility with indoor wallclimbing and eating a lot to put on someweight before the Everest climb. "Anexpedition sets you back by a couple ofkilos, and since I'm an athlete, I find ithard to gain weight back. So I'm hoggingpre-emptively," she says.

The duo will make their summitattempts a few weeks from now, climbinghigher with each successive sortieuntil they're fully acclimatised and canmake the final push to the top.

Vajpai is already looking beyond; hisEverest attempt is just step one of aplan to climb the seven tallest peaksacross the seven continents.

World record in the making

Jordan Romero(13) has beenclimbing mountainshis entirelife. He startedtraining to climbthe seven tallestpeaks on theseven continentswhen he was 9, and his firstclimb of the expedition was MtKilimanjaro. If he climbs theEverest, he'll become theyoungest person ever to summitthe peak.

You're on your way to becoming theyoungest person to make the SevenSummits climb. How does it feel?
I'm not thinking about the record.I'm just thinking about the mountain.My goal is to climb the SevenSummits, and since Mt Everest ispart of them, I'm climbing it. Myage is not an issue. I enjoy climbing,and I'm going to make it tothe summit irrespective ofwhether it takes me two monthsor two years.

Did you have to follow a special trainingregime to gain the strength and hardinessrequired?
I began training when I was 9. I mixit up a lot so that it's not boring. Irun, do freestyle skiing, mountainbiking and play sports.

How do you prepare for the ascent?What do you think of at that time?
Everything is one step at a time. Itry not to look at the big picture andfocus on small goals. I focus on whatI need to do. In crucial moments, Imake sure I'm doing everything right.

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