Mumbai: As someone once said, “Success is not a destination, it is a journey.” This will hardly suit a few successful people and mountaineer Harshvardhan Joshi will be included in some of those who have earned success in their kitty. Hailing from Mumbai, Harsha found his interest in trekking early in his life – at the age of 15 – in 2011, when he started hiking small hills in and around Mumbai, which did not exceed 1,000 feet in height. was.
Cut to 2021, Harsha has conquered the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, at the age of 25. He had tested positive for Covid-19 on his way to the summit of Mount Everest, but he did not give up on his dream. Despite the cyclone being predicted, he did not look back. He confidently said, “I imagined myself proudly hoisting the tricolor on Mount Everest, even before I actually did. And that was my inspiration throughout my campaign.”
It took the 25-year-old almost two months to scale the 29,030 ft Mount Everest expedition. But, just three days before reaching the summit, he had tested positive and was suggested to remain in isolation. He recalled, “I had to be in isolation for 11 days though being asymptomatic. I was shaken up after the rapid antigen test came back positive.” Gritty Harsh told ABP Live, “Luckily, I’ve had the Kovid vaccine twice and most of the vaccines have saved me from some serious consequences.”
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After 11 days, he was warned about a cyclone and bad weather at the summit of the world’s highest peak, but the Mumbai-climber didn’t take one for it and proceeded for hiking. “The weather conditions were a bit bad. The last three days of my expedition were the toughest and Cyclone Yas was also predicted,” said the 25-year-old climber.
After working hard and taking tremendous risks, he finally scaled the highest peak of the planet. “I finally touched the peak and hoisted the tricolor after 55 days of campaign,” said the Sherpa captain happily.
The Mumbai-climber was five times on Mount Everest expeditions and must say he is the most qualified 25-year-old to stand on top of the world at 29,030 feet.
It all started when, at the age of 15, Harsh met a group of doctors and started trekking with them in and around Mumbai. At the age of 18, he stood atop Kedarkanta at 13,000 feet. Harsh had taken nine mountaineering courses over a period of three years from 2016-2019. “I lived six to seven months a year in the foothills of the Himalayas to pursue mountaineering courses,” he recalled.
It was in 2017, he had decided to climb Mount Everest and since then he has been practicing for the epic expedition. “In 2019, I have started fundraising because climbing Everest is a costly affair – it costs around Rs 60 lakh. I had to take a loan of Rs 13 lakh for this expedition. And when I tested positive for Covid So all these aspects kept me going even more. Driven to reach the top.” Harsh said, who is also promoting the benefits of getting the Kovid vaccine through his social media pages.
When asked about his future plans, he said, “This year, I am planning another expedition to Mount Manaslu – the eighth highest mountain on Earth at 8,163 meters.” Interestingly, Harsha focused on becoming the first Indian to scale the full height of Mount Manaslu, which is located in Nepal, without oxygen and supplements.
Now, what to wait and see in life for Harshvardhan.
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