Ishan Sharma and the Mt. Frey Experience

“Never take a mountain for granted” – Ishan Sharma

Not many know about Mt. Frey, but those who do, know that this is one of the most beautiful and difficult mountains to climb in India. A beauty in the Himalayas, Mt. Frey was a dream peak to climb for Ishan, someone who knows no limits when it comes to adventures in life. His story with regard to climbing Mt. Frey is an inspiring tale to those who aspire to be mountaineers. And that’s exactly what he shares with us… a story to inspire!

Mount Frey is a difficult mountain to climb. Tell us about your experience.

It was a very varied experience. When we say we are climbing a mountain, we end up thinking about that one instant when we reach the summit, look at the view and forget how we got there. The journey was a mixture of different kinds of experiences and once on top of Frey, it was absolutely worth it.

Technically, From Chaurikhang, back to Chaurikhang it took us four days.

DAY – 1 The first day was called Load Ferry. So, Load Ferry essentially means that you carry your load like, food, utensils, cylinders. All of us had to carry around 15kgs of load, per person till the base camp of Frey, where we left our luggage. That day it was snowing really bad and the weather was not favourable for Load Ferrying at all, but we had to do what was planned.

DAY – 2 The next day we took our personal luggage, just the essentials that we required for the next two days. Along with that we carried some extra items like, ready to eat noodles, packed food, chicken and some utensils. Part of the things we carried were our stuff, part of it was kitchen equipment and tents. We reached the camp at Frey on the day two by the afternoon and we did nothing during the evening.

DAY – 3 We started around 2 am on the third day. This was the day we reached the summit and then came back by 3 pm. So, that was around 11-12 hours of mountaineering. After that we were too tired to go down and the weather was not favourable. So, we spent the night again at the camp of Frey.

DAY – 4 On the fourth day, we woke up early and had to Load Ferry again. We had consumed all the food, but we still had utensils and other things to carry. And then we made it back to Chaurikhang.

How different was Mount Frey from the other mountains you have climbed? What are your dream peaks to climb, like every mountaineer has one?

Mt. Frey was a very technical mountain, unlike anything I’ve done in the past. The gradient of climbing was also much higher. Mt. Frey was very rocky and the amount of snow was very intense. There were moments when my legs, up till my waist were covered in fresh snow and if you don’t take out your legs properly, chances are you will fracture your legs. I’d never experienced that before.

Mt. Frey was the No.1 on my “To climb list”. There is a story behind this. So, back in 2015 when I completed my Basic Mountaineering Course, Salwat sir (Team GBL) had already done his basic course by then and he had told me about this beautiful mountain called Mt. Frey. Till then I wanted to climb the Everest like any other mountaineering aspirant, but in 2015, during my basic course, I’d just sit at the camp and look at Mt. Frey. From that time on, Mt. Frey was the most beautiful mountain I’d ever seen. In fact in 2019 when I decided to do my Advance Mountaineering Course, the applications for Frey were not available. One of the main reasons why I applied in Himalayan Mountaineering Institute again was so that I could look at Frey again.

There is a very beautiful mountain in the Swiss Alps called Matterhorn. I put it No.2 on the list of the most beautiful mountains after Mt. Frey. Before I climb Everest or any other mountain, my heart would be at Matterhorn.

What were your thoughts when you were about to start the climb to Mt. Frey?

I was very excited. I was reminding myself constantly that I’ve worked very hard to get here. Another thing was, I kept telling myself that the next two days, I will remember for the rest of my life. I could remember it for two reasons, either I would make a great excuse or I would make a great story. I get to choose how I remember it and I choose to make a great story.

What were your thoughts after reaching the summit?

I thought I will go on top of Frey and start crying and my tears would freeze mid-way. But nothing of that sort happened. When I got to the summit, it was definitely a satisfying feeling, but it wasn’t like the way anybody would anticipate. It was very different because when you’re actually at the summit, you realize that it is just half done. Going up is optional and coming down is mandatory. Yes, there was a sense of satisfaction and a sense of gratitude, but when I reached on top, I was not in that zone wherein I was shedding tears of joy.

However, for the first time in my life I got to see Mt. Everest. There are many other ways to see the Everest, but I saw it from another peak. For example, there is a Micro-light plane from Kathmandu that goes around Everest and comes back and you can see the Everest from the sky. You can also view Everest from the Everest base camp, but looking at Everest from another mountain that you just climbed is a bonus, especially after around 11-12 hours of climbing. I told myself that if I ever see Everest, I’ll see it in worthy light. The first time I saw the Everest, I was on top of Mt. Frey.

Any problems or dangers that you faced during the climb?

Absolutely! So, there is a thing called “Anchoring,” that is, you either tie a rope around a big rock or around a natural anchor like a tree, but there aren’t any trees at that altitude. Or you use technical equipments that will hold the rope. So at one point, we had tied our rope around a very big rock and around ten of us successfully used that rope to climb up and climb down. There were three people who faced trouble. There was this one guy from the Army and as he was getting down, that huge boulder slipped and it was about to almost topple him. If not kill him, it would cause him permanent damage. It just missed him by a few inches and since his entire weight was on the rock, he was weightless at that point. He could barely manage to save himself. There were other two also who were dependent on the rope, but they managed to be safe. But this was an incident where if anybody would be hurt, at that altitude, there was no scope of rescue. We had come a far way from Chaurikhang.

Frey, like I said is a very rocky peak. And because of the snow, the rock kind of gets covered by it. So it is difficult to pick the rock. There were moments we had to rock climb and fix-rope. There were moments when I was rock climbing and I could feel that the rock is about to fall and if it would fall, the person behind me would get hit. So I had to make sure that the rock doesn’t fall. And I think even the others ensured that, but even that could’ve been extremely dangerous.

Now that you look back on the experience. How different is the feeling now compared to then?

Very different. At that moment I couldn’t digest it, but now when I think about it, I’ve digested it partially. I know that it was once in a lifetime experience. I was really lucky to get passage to Frey top and back. When I look back now, I realise that there are so many things we got exposure to. It was so cold there and we lived in a place where there was absolutely nothing else. During the advanced course training, we lived in the campus where batches would come and instructors would be familiar faces. Here things were very different. There was no civilisation around us and the experiences varied. People kept getting stuck in fresh snow and the wind was so intense that there were moments that we had to wake up in the middle of the night and hold the tent, so that it doesn’t fly off.

Was there any point during the climb where you felt like you might not be able to make it? What kept you motivated to keep going?

One of the criterias for climbing Mt. Frey was that the basic course had to be done recently, but I’d done it far back in the day. So I thought I wouldn’t go, but one hour before it started, the instructors told me that I can do it and that I had to pack up my stuff immediately. Hence I was going through a turmoil of emotions throughout.

After the second day’s Load Ferry, I was so fatigued. It had never happened in my life before… I just wanted to lie down and do nothing. One of my friends came up to me and told me that I had “Glacieritis” I don’t even know if it’s a real thing! He probably made it up. But that scared me at that time because I didn’t want to fall sick on the mountain, so I immediately got up. This was one such moment when I genuinely wanted to just lie down and stay like that, but what kept me going was when he told me that I was suffering from a particular problem.

Any tips for those who aspire to climb Mt. Frey?

Not just Mt. Frey, but any other mountain for that matter. Never take a mountain for granted and not just Mt. Frey, but if your preparation is less, you shouldn’t do it. Do not wait for the odds to be in your favour, but instead make sure that the odds are in your favour. So, I’d just say that know what you’re signing up for. Yes, best news comes after the hardest climbs.

Can you tell us something interesting about Mt. Frey that you learnt while you were there?

Mt. Frey is named after a famous mountaineer named George Frey. It is believed that George Frey was on a mission to climb Frey along with Tenzing Norgay, but before they started, they got into an argument. George Frey with confidence did not listen to the advice of Tenzing Norgay to put on his crampons and eventually fell and died. Legend has it that George Frey’s Ice axe and crampons are still lying at the base of Mt. Frey.

If you wish to go on a trek or a camp anytime soon, let us take you with us. To book your slot visit www.getbeyondlimits.com

For any further details contact us via email – connect@getbeyondlimits.com

ISHAN SHARMA AND HIS EXPERIENCE COMPLETING THE ADVANCE MOUNTAINEERING COURSE – AN INTERVIEW

If the sky’s the limit, then we have just not tried enough.

We all aspire to achieve something big someday. Be it wanting to be an engineer, doctor, entrepreneur or something less common like a mountaineer. One thing that bounds all these aspirations together is hard work and sheer determination. If you’ve got the combination of these two inside of you, nothing can stop you from reaching the zenith of success.

One such mountaineer who knows no limits is Ishan Sharma, who recently completed his Advance Mountaineering Course. From the difficulties, technicalities and the inspirations that made this a wholesome experience for Ishan, he shares with us exactly that… An experience of a lifetime!

How to prepare for the course? How would you say your preparations were?

The preparations for me were mostly two things – 1. Definitely physical preparation which is getting in shape for what’s in store. As I’d already completed my Basic Mountaineering Course, I knew what level of fitness was expected. I had been doing Yoga since the past six months, but before that, last year I’d run a 40 km marathon. I wasn’t sure if Yoga would be enough, but it turned out it was. 2. Mental preparation for me was getting in the zone, which was accepting that it was going to be very challenging, but knowing that it would be worth it at the end of it. There was a lot of technical preparations involved as well. For the advanced course, technical preparations are very important. One thing I practised the most was knot-making, which is essentially the right use of ropes. YouTube helped me with learning knot-making.

What is the prerequisite to an Advanced Mountaineering Course?

India is blessed to be a country which has beautiful mountains, at the same time it has a crazy amount of support from the Government of India. Essentially it’s the Ministry of Defence that supports these mountaineering courses. Right after Mount Everest was first climbed till the summit, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru thought that there should be lots of mountaineers in the country, so they have these courses in these specific institutes in India. There are around 6-7 institutes in India now that offer these courses. The prerequisite to the Advance Mountaineering Course is to have an Alfa Grade in your Basic Mountaineering Course.

What is different in a Basic Mountaineering Course and an Advanced Mountaineering course, mentally and physically?

So, in the Basic Mountaineering Course they give you an introduction. They will tell you about the equipment required. They will also tell you about, say you’re falling off a mountain, they will blatantly tell you that chances are you will die. But these are the certain ways you can use to probably save yourself. They will teach you techniques like self-arrest and familiarize you with the mountain. But considering that there are people who are doing this for the first time, they ensure that the confidence is maintained. For me this was the difference – In an advance course, since I’d brushed up on everything I’d learnt, I was confident. They do give us a run-through of the basic course and then they build up the more advance techniques. After the completion of the basic course, you can climb mountains, mostly under the supervision of an expert. But the completion of the advance course will enable you to not only climb mountains by yourself, but also supervise other mountaineers. So they give you that much of an exposure.

What inspired you to take up mountaineering?

Back in 2012, I’d visited Darjeeling with my parents and somebody told me that I can see Mt. Kanchenjunga from there. At that point I really didn’t care about mountaineering, but I wanted to see the mountain. Because of it being too cloudy, I couldn’t see anything. I was really pissed. I told myself, “Forget Kanchenjunga, I’ll see Mt. Everest.” I then started researching on Everest and realized that it’s a different world altogether. The views you get from there or the fact that the ears get so dry there that people end up coughing so much that they end up breaking their ribs. Another interesting fact that I read was that, here when I’m breathing, I’m getting 100% of oxygen in one breath. There in Everest, we have to take 3 breaths to equate one breath because there is so less oxygen available at that altitude. I don’t know why these things inspired me, I think that was the beginning. The more I read about it, I more I felt like I should get into mountaineering.

What are the few challenges you faced while training for an Advanced Mountaineering Course, and what are some you faced during the course?

Before the start of the course, there really weren’t that many challenges. It was just, making time from my daily work schedule to practice and train myself for the course. During the course, everything was a challenge. But what was really challenging was to constantly have faith in myself. Especially in that environment, there are 50-odd people who have done similar courses like the basic one, also India is a country where people have this mentality where if they don’t know anything, they constantly undermine the others. So if you’re not confident with yourself, you can easily be undermined by the others. When you’re doing a course like the Advance Mountaineering Course, you do things that are very difficult and if you do them half-heartedly, then you don’t give it your best.

What does a day in an Advanced Mountaineering Course look like?

The day there is pretty simple. The major things that happen are pertaining to the course. The courses are divided into two sections –

1. In Darjeeling, where theoretical training or rock-climbing is taught. 2. The mountains, where we trek for 4 days and we reach a point which is completely disconnected from civilisation.

So at this point, It involves :

Waking up at 5am because in that altitude you cannot sleep a lot. For men there are no toilets there, so you have to find a boulder behind which you take a dump. Also, you have to make sure that you do not use too much toilet paper because there are others who will need it and you have to save toilet paper for the rest of the day.
We then have to wear our snow-boots. They are essentially 3 kgs each and wearing them takes 20 mins.
After this we had our food and then we head to the training programme. Most of the days it involves going to a glacier, doing a half-an-hour hike.
Then we had a one hour exercise to go to a lake and getting water to the base camp, which was used to make food.
This was followed by a few more classes, then dinner and then sleep.
But then again, you have to ensure that if it’s too windy, your tent doesn’t fly off or if there is too much snow accumulated on top of the tent, to shake the tent so that the snow falls down. So that’s a day in the course.

What would you say was the best moment/best part of the entire 28 days training?

It was actually very painful to choose one but I think it was Badakhana. So usually we are given the same type of food everyday. The usual, healthy food consisting of dal, rotis and everything. After the training is complete, there is day day called “Badakhana” That’s almost after 14 days of eating the same type of food. Badakhana usually has Malai kofta, Kaju Rice, Puri and Aalu. You might think that this is regular food, but people who are out there, away from all this, that day was a delight.

What kept you motivated throughout the course?

The Principal, Vice Principal and the Instructors of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute are incredible. You know these patriotic movies where all cadets are asked to assemble in a place and a motivating speech is given? So that happened with us periodically. The Principal would sit in Darjeeling and we would be at the area called Chaurikhang. Trough walkie-talkies he would talk to us, every once in a while. That kept our spirits high, so not just me, but I think everybody got motivated through these talks. Besides that, I think we tend to learn a lot through these experiences. For me, one such learning was that no matter how difficult the days are, I knew that they would come to an end if I keep walking. And that end would make me feel proud of what I’ve achieved.

What will you say to those who aspire to take up this course in the future?

For the basic one I’d say that you should be fully aware of what you’re signing up for. Because people who are unaware of this tend to struggle more. Also remember that one day it will get over, provided you do not give up halfway through it. Intense experiences like these are the ones that teach us a lot. For the people trying for the advance course, make sure you do not compromise on your preparations and the better prepared you are, the more you can learn.

If you wish to go on a trek or a camp anytime soon, let us take you with us. To book your slot visit www.getbeyondlimits.com

For any further details contact us via email – connect@getbeyondlimits.com

6 Famous Sherpas We Should All Know About

Sherpas are real life heroes. While western mountaineers are famed all across the world, we often tend to forget to credit these sherpas who have equal, or far too many achievements to their names as well. Sherpa translates into “The Eastern People” and this ethnic group is a big help to all the mountaineers from across the world who aspire to climb the Everest, or any other peak around Nepal. They are also called as the superhuman climbers of the world. But sadly, there are only a few Sherpas who are known to the masses today. We all know about Tenzing Norgay, but what about the others? So, here are 6 famous Sherpas we should all know about!

Lakpa Sherpa

Born in 1973, Lakpa is the first Nepalese woman to climb and descent the Mt. Everest successfully. She has climbed the Everest 9 times, more than any other woman climber.

In the year 2000, Lakpa was made the leader of the expedition to the Everest which was sponsored by Asian Trekking. This was her first climb to the highest peak in the world. In 2010, she also attempted to reach the summit of Mt. K2, but was successful in reaching only till camp 3, after which she had to turn back due to bad weather.

Now, Lakpa is an American citizen and a public figure. Her interviews have featured in The Telegraph and many other leading media outlets.

Babu Chiri Sherpa

Born in 1965, Babu Chiri has reached the summit of the Everest 10 times! He also hold two world records to his name. First, he managed to stay on the summit of the Everest for 21 hours without auxiliary oxygen. Second, he is known to have made the fastest ascent to the summit of the Everest in 16 hours and 56 minutes only!

As a child, Babu Chiri grew up in the mountains and always loved them with all his heart. The legend of Tenzing Norgay was his inspiration to climb the Everest too. He began his career at the age of 16, as a mountain porter and the rest is history. He also went on some expeditions to Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world.

However, Babu Chiri died in 2001 when he fell into a crevasse from camp 3 while taking some photographs during his 11th attempt to summit the mighty Everest. He still is remembered for his achievements and always will.

Pemba Gyalje Sherpa

He is a 46 year old mountaineer who is one of the most notable Sherpas of today. With an astonishing 127 ascents to various mountains of the world, he also trains aspiring mountaineers.

Being awarded various prestigious awards like, The Adventurer of the Year and The Heroism, he also featured in the documentary called, “The Summit” alongside some Swedish mountaineers. In this documentary, he was seen talking about his experience losing 11 fellow climbers to an avalanche while climbing K2.

Pemba Gyalje now lives in Kathmandu, Nepal with his family and continues to add feathers to his already crowded hat.

Phurba Tashi Sherpa

If you’re wondering what his achievements in the field of mountaineering are, he has climbed the summit of the Everest twenty-one times, Mt. Cho Oyu five times, Mt. Manaslu two times and Mt. Shishapangma and Mt. Lhotse one time each.

Since his unbelievable achievements, Phurba Tashi has featured in a Discovery Channel documentary series called “Everest: Beyond The Limit” and has also led many expeditions. He is a role model in the Sherpa community and continues to inspire those who dream of climbing the mighty mountains of the world.

Phurba Tashi (48-years-old) has now retired from mountaineering and lives in Khumjung, Nepal.

Ang Dorje Sherpa

Born in 1970, Ang Dorje is a Nepali mountaineer, trainer and porter, all packed into one. He has climbed the summit of the Everest 19 times and is a public figure whose achievements are phenomenal.

Ang Dorje also assisted Bachendri Pal, the first woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest in 1984. This was his second ascent to the Everest. He has since climbed other peaks like Cho Oyu, Broad Peak and many others.

Ang Dorje now lives in the USA with his wife Michelle Gregory.

Kami Rita Sherpa

Born in 1970, he has under his name the world record for the most ascents to the summit of Mt. Everest. He climbed the summit of Everest for the twenty-third time in May 2019, breaking the previous record of twenty-two ascent, which was his own record that he had achieved in May 2018.

The fact that he was 49-years-old when he achieved the above mentioned world record, is commendable. Kami Rita started the climb from the Nepal side along with eight other Nepali climbers. Because of him achieving this feat, he is now well-known around the world!

Kami Rita presently works for the mountaineering firm, Alpine Ascents and lives in Nepal, his home country.

If you are an aspiring mountaineer and want to summit the peaks that the Himalayas has to offer, you must get to know about the Sherpa community. They are not only porters and great mountaineers, but people with inhuman mountain climbing abilities.

If you wish to go on a trek anytime soon, let us take you with us. To book your slot visit www.getbeyondlimits.com

For any further details contact us via email – connect@getbeyondlimits.com