It was very cold on that day (May 15). Sk.Himmasa, young mountaineer from Ongole, was weighing the options whether to go ahead with climbing Mount Everest or not.
With winds blowing in favour, he decided to go ahead after getting tips from the local sherpas. It paid dividends as he set his foot on the peak at 1.55 a.m. on May 16 holding the national tricolour afloat.
“It was a pleasant surprise for me as I was the first among the five others, who made the bid on that day, to reach the peak,” he added in a chocked voice. “I cannot express the level of excitement in words,” said Himmasa on his return to his home town on Monday. It was only on some occasions the climatic condition aids mountaineers, he explained.
He dedicated his achievement to his father Sk.Mastan, a construction worker, and his mother Sk.Mastanbee who provided all support to him.
He is not a person to rest on laurels. The 23-year-old alumnus of Sri Harshini Degree College has now set his eyes on rewriting the record of none other than ace mountaineer, Malli Mastan Babu, India’s fastest seven summiteer.
He is an ‘Ekalyva’ student of Mastan Babu, who had etched his name in the Guinness record for the fastest climb of the tallest peaks in all continents in 173 days. “I am looking for a sponsor. If every thing materialises as planned, I will attempt scaling Kilimanjaro in Africa in two months from now,” he revealed.
This will be followed by scaling of four other highest peaks in Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America), Elbrus (Europe), Vinson Massif (Antarctica) and Kosciuszko (Australia), added the passionate mountaineer.
Career in Army
He is looking forward to a promising career in the para commandos force of the Indian Army after training at the Indian Military Academy(IMA) in Dehradun.
He thanked the State government for arranging for his elaborate training at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute at Darjeeling and then at the Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports at Pahalgam.
“The State government will provide all support to Himmasa and other talented youth to prove their mettle,” Prakasam District Collector V. Vinay Chand said.
The Society for Training and Employment Promotion (STEP) was on talent search across the district to spot talented youth and hone their skills in different fields.
“We provide training to the youth on a regular basis for them to bag lucrative jobs in the armed forces,” he added.
