They dared to dream and their soaring dreams are being given shape thanks to Mission Everest programme of the State government. The programme launched in 2016 gives opportunity to young men and women to scale Mount Everest.

K. Raja, a 23-year-old youngster from Tadepalli, is among a group of six youngsters from the State who scaled the Mount Everest in April, 2018.

Dream come true

Conquering the highest peak in the world in the most gruelling weather conditions is no mean achievement for Raja, who had lost his father at a young age. His mother used to look after the family of three sons, until the elder brother secured a job in an automobile retail store in Gannavaram. Raja is now studying M.Com. in Tirupati.

“I have never dreamt that I would scale Mount Everest and I felt that I am on top of the world for a few minutes. The experience was also humbling as I leant to respect nature,” Raja told The Hindu.

He was felicitated by Joint Collector Md. Imtiyaz Ahmed during the Grievance Day held on Monday.

It was in November, 2017, when Raja saw an advertisement in a local newspaper about the Mount Everest programme.

A passion for sports and fitness motivated him and he applied and was selected as part of a group of 130 boys and girls. After a five-day physical training session at Ketanakonda in Krishna district, the group was screened and 40 boys and girls who passed the endurance test were sent to train in icy conditions at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. Another gruelling stint at Jawarhalal Institute of Mountaineering for 20 days hardened his skills, followed by advanced training programme in Ladakh. Finally, the batch was cut short to six persons.

Finally, the six-member troupe set out to scale the Mount Everest peak on April 9. After reaching Kathmandu in Nepal on the same day, they stayed at Lhasa and Tingri and finally started the trek at the base camp at an altitude of 13,000 feet. They reached advanced base camp at a further distance of 6,200 metres.

Icy winds

“The trek from camp 1 to camp 2 is the most gruelling test of endurance. With the guidance of Sherpa, I trudged up the snowy mountain braving icy winds touching a speed of 200 km per hour. Finally, I was able to scale the summit at 3 a.m. on April 16. This was the most thrilling moment in my life,” said Raja.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by P. Samuel Jonathan / Guntur – June 12th, 2018