Not satisfied with the seven summits and seven volcano peaks he has scaled so far in this lifetime, 39-year-old Satyarup Siddhanta has his sights set true north. The mountaineer is now gearing up for a trip to the North Pole.
Siddhanta has his name down in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the youngest mountaineer to have climbed seven summits as well as seven volcanic summits when he was 35 years and nine months. He is now planning to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam and is ready to start for the North Pole on March 31 from Kolkata.
The Explorer’s Grand Slam is an adventurer’s goal to reach the North and South Poles as well as scale the Seven Summits (the highest peaks in all the seven continents).
As a child with asthma, Siddhanta has fought with all his might to complete these records at the age of 35. “I am very excited; if I complete this, then I will be the first person and the youngest in the world to achieve this. I will go to Oslo, then Longyearbyen in Norway. From there, onto Camp Barneo, which is a Russian floating ice base camp. We have to go 111 km, ski and sled all the way carrying 50 kg of our luggage; it will take over 10 days and we have to be in -25 degrees. It’s tough but I am sure we will do it,” he told News18.
Siddhanta wants to bring more people into the mountaineering and adventure sports fold. This time, on the occasion of 70 years of Mount Everest’s ascent, he is guiding a team of 37 entrepreneurs, social workers and corporates to trek to the Everest base camp.
“Edmund Hillary’s son Peter Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s son Jamling Tenzing Norgay will also be there and it will be a completely different experience altogether. I am training them everyday for trekking, some are above 50 and the youngest is only 10 years old. I want more people to love the mountains and take up mountaineering; after my North Pole expedition, on May 15, we will reach the Everest base camp with this team,” he said.
While Siddhanta is prominent in his circuit, the way he has cultivated an interest in others for trekking is commendable.
“We are entrepreneurs; we love challenges, risks and adventures. Satyarup is our guide and when he planned this I was ready to go. We will go on May 15. It will be a great experience and I am sure it will encourage other people as well,” said Kamal Agarwal, vice-president of The Indus Entrepreneurs, who is going for the Everest expedition.
Saurabh Tibrewal, a chartered accountant, will also be going with Satyarup. “I am regularly working out under Satyarup’s guidance. I started a walking marathon in 2018 and always wanted to go trekking. I am happy to get this opportunity as Satyarup is a great leader and we are excited,” he said.
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