No mountain too high

Times of India, Oct 26, 2015
BHUBANESWAR: Two ace mountaineers of the state who have successfully scaled Mount Everest have turned master trainers as they not only motivate youths to take to adventure sports but also train them.

Kalahandi-based mountaineer Jogabyas Bhoi's gang of students includes four girls and three boys. Jogabyas provides them basic training by taking them to the mountains nearby. "Starting from physical exercise to soft skills and breath control, I am teaching them how to shed fear and stay focused while climbing a mountain. A few of them have shown extraordinary zeal to scale the peaks of local mountains. If they are successful, I will plan to send them for training to the glacier, which is important to be an ace mountaineer," said Bhoi, the first Indian to scale the 17298-ft high Renik mountain in the Himalayas without oxygen in June 2008 after successfully conquering Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in South Africa, without oxygen. He made it to the Everest peak in 2011, again without oxygen.

He has also climbed a mountain in Europe, Mt Elbruse, located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay, Russia, without oxygen.

Bhoi recently led a team of cyclists, who covered 1,737 km in Bhutan. The bicycle expedition was meant for strengthening the bond between Bhutan and India.

Another Everest conqueror, Ganesh Jena, is also training interested youths in mountaineering. Ganesh provided basic training to a batch of six students at the Indira Gandhi park here. He subsequently sent them to Manali for further training in glacier and higher peaks. "In Manali, the students will receive training at 15 rocks and 15 different glaciers. The height of local mountains is a maximum of 5,000 ft and we need to train students to scale up to 7000 ft," said Ganesh.

Jena trained in mountaineering at Manali and successfully climbed peaks like the Mamostong Kangri, Mount Kamet, Mount Saser Kangir, Mount Ladakhi, Mount Satider, Mount Friendship and Mount Stock Kangri. He also participated in various mountaineering expeditions in India and abroad.

Dhenkanal-born Kalpana Das is the first Odia to scale Mount Everest in 2008. Her success inspired youths to take up mountaineering. A year later, Das scaled Mount Mc Kinley, the highest peak in North America.