Glorious peak: From welfare hostels to Mt. Everest

14 youth from underprivileged backgrounds, including two girls, brave extreme weather to reach summit

The mountaineers got a grand reception at Vijayawada Airport on Thursday.

“We were not sure of victory till the last moment. We walked around dead bodies and along pathways with poor visibility. What kept us going was the confidence that Andhra Pradesh had reposed in us and our conviction to see the Indian flag on the peak. Finally, Mt. Everest was under our feet,” said G. Suresh Babu, a member of the largest student group to scale Mt. Everest, recently.

The 14 underprivileged youth studying in Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Schools (APSWRS) and staying in Social Welfare Department hostels, and those from AP Youth Services Department claimed a record for opening a fresh route to the summit.

Sandhya Bhai Vadithe, G. Hari Prasad, R. Sundar Raju, Rani Boddu, G. Suresh Babu, V. Krishna Rao, K. Durga Rao, Bharat Thammineni, Nagaraju Sundarana, Satya Rao, Mothukuri Dharma Teja, Chenna Rao Gajavalli, Eeswar Seelam and Bodla Sagar made it to the top. The first two women climbers of Mt. Everest from AP are also in the team, organisers said.

The students narrated their expedition at a reception here on Thursday.

“I am into mountaineering since 2012 and tried thrice to scale Mt. Everest, but failed. Raising funds was a major problem. One needs more than Rs. 25 lakh. But with help from the Youth Services Department, I was able to chase my dream,” said Bharath, of Youth Services.

Route to the top

The team says it is the first since 1953 to open a fresh route to the top. “So far only Chinese climbers opened routes,” said Sekhar Babu, mountaineer and head of Transcend Adventurers, the expedition organisers.

“The students faced complicated weather. In the last ten years such harsh and confusing weather was absent,” he said.

Climber Sundar Raju’s father, Rajasekhar, from Kurnool, said he did not know much about the expedition but was confident that his son could do it.

Raju’s brother Yesu Raju said, “We knew it was risky. But success would bring change. I explained this to my parents and they encouraged him.”

Parents of many climbers had not visited even a district headquarters earlier. Now their wards had scaled the highest peak.

“The expedition organisers told me that their discipline could help them achieve the task in just six months,” APSWREIS Secretary V.Ramulu said.