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Summit of success
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After scaling the 6189-metres high Imja-Tse peak in the Himalayas, 22-year-old Bachinepally Shekhar Babu sets his eyes on Chullu East peak in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas. His final dream is to climb Mount Everest, writes ARJUN SEN GUPTA.
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THIN ICE: Trekking towards the summit.
THE DANGEROUS and difficult activity of mountaineering has few takers in Hyderabad. But 22-year old soft-spoken Bachinepally Shekhar Babu, a resident of Lecturers Colony in Hayathnagar, has achieved the rare distinction of leading a four-member team named `Sahasi' to the peak of the 6189-metres high Imja-Tse peak in the Everest region of the Himalayas.
Shekhar Babu who has completed his BCA from Osmania University and is now pursuing MSIT by correspondence from Madras University, was introduced to mountaineering at a rock climbing camp when he was an 18-year old NCC cadet. He was inspired to take up climbing by the camp in-charge Parmesh Kumar who instilled in him the desire to conquer the high peaks.
Subsequently, he joined the Adventure Club of AP, which in turn, led to a stint at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) in Darjeeling where he completed a basic course of 28 days. This was followed by an advance course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) in Uttarkashi. During the advance course the trainees had to plan an expedition by themselves.
OVER THE TOP: Shekar Babu with the Indian flag on Imja-Tse peak.
"I had initially planned on the Kedar dome which is more than 22,000 feet high - located near the famous Kedarnath temple. But due to heavy snowfall, we had to change our target to Baby Shivling - at a height of 18,900 feet. We reached the summit successfully and it gave us a lot of confidence," says Shekhar Babu.
Talking about his later conquest of Imja-Tse, which is also known as Island Peak, he says he first heard of the peak from Pasang Sherpa - an experienced climber and liaison officer for climbing expeditions, whom he had met during the basic course at HMI.
"We discussed the possibilities of climbing Imja-Tse then, and while going through the advance course at NIM, I decided to pick three others who according to my judgement were the most competent among the trainees.
HITTING THE HIGH: Shekhar Babu (extreme left) and others on Imja Tse peak.
They were Rajat Jangir of Rajasthan, Pankaj Kumar Pandey of Uttaranchal and Deepak Debnath of Kolkata to accompany me as team-members for the expedition to Imja-Tse," Shekhar Babu continues.
"The toughest part of the climb was when, just before reaching the summit, we encountered an ice wall which was about 250 metres high. We did not have adequate equipment to tackle such a high ice wall but luckily we found some rope and equipment left behind by previous expeditions and that helped us to get over the ice wall and eventually scale the peak," he says.
When asked about the expenses required for undertaking such an expedition he said that the Imja-Tse expedition cost the team about Rs. 2,30,000 in all. Of this, Shekhar managed to contribute Rs. 90,000 after receiving a sponsorship of Rs. 36,000 from Sports Authority of AP and Rs.10,000 from Venture Adventure Club of Bangalore.
UPWARD BOUND: A tough climb up a 250 metre ice wall.
According to Shekhar, mountaineering in India is plagued by lack of finances. "Sponsorship is also hard to come by," he adds.
Speaking of his future plans Shekhar Babu says he has set his eyes on the Chullu East peak - a 6000-plus metres high peak in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas as his next target. For this expedition he will pick a team of four people from his home State.
Those selected will have to prove themselves to be fit. Talking about his fitness regimen he says that he depends on slow jogging often with a load of 15 to 20 kgs on his back to build strength in his calves and thighs.
"But the most important factor in any expedition is team spirit. Even fitness comes second," he says. Shekhar Babu's final dream is the conquest of Mt. Everest. "After all that is the ultimate goal of every mountaineer," he concludes.
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