Making molehills out of mountains

Thane man defies age, wins over depression to summit Mt Everest in feat of tribute and triumph

Thane man Sharad Kulkarni decided his life as he knew it, running an advertising agency, needed a new turn at around 50 years of age. Kulkarni and his wife Anjali decided to pursue their passion for mountaineering. They wanted to climb seven peaks of the world’s seven continents.

Traffic jam

“We can call it a craze, much more than a passion, it is difficult to explain what drove us,” said Kulkarni at a press conference at the Press Club in Azad Maidan (SoBo) late Friday morning. The Kulkarnis trained and started climbing different mountains. Kulkarni and his wife scaled Mt. Kosciusko in Australia. They scaled Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro. In May 2019 the couple were climbing the blue riband of mountaineering, the Everest. It was then that tragedy struck. Caught in a ‘traffic jam’ on Everest, a struggling and suffering Anjali Kulkarni passed away at Hillary Step on the mountain, “one of the reasons was that she could not reach oxygen cylinders in time because of the jam”, said Kulkarni.

A devastated Kulkarni returned home solo. He said at the conference, “At least 19 persons died on that climb. There are as one would say, professional hazards to use a euphemism in climbing. We hear of this but it is very different when it happens to you.”

The prep

Climber Surendra Shelke who was at the press conference stated, “Words even from the most eloquent, cannot describe what it feels to stand atop Everest. Even the most accomplished climbers have perished on Everest and other mountains. Your preparation is in your hands. Then, it is what God and the mountain want for you.”

Second chance

One of the perils of climbing is falling into a crevice in the mountains. Kulkarni fell into a crevice too post his wife’s passing, only this crevice was on land. He fell into depression leading to unhealthy weight gain. “I then, one day decided to summon my mental strength to clamber out and begin training again. I wanted to climb Everest again. There were many who told me not to try and summit Everest, but my son, Shantanu said: Dad you go ahead,” recalled Kulkarni. Operation rebound had begun. Kulkarni scaled Vinson (Antarctica), Denali (N America), Elbrus (Europe) and Akankaguha (S America). Everest was on the list.

Son-shine days

Shantanu who is an avid trekker, also at the press conference said, “The day my mother died on Everest was known as the Black Day of Everest. I know what trying again and summitting would mean for my father. He sacrificed a lot, training for the second time. He stayed away from his grandchild, and the family, in Lonavala as he had to prepare. I know the dedication, the sweat and the work. I backed him throughout.”

The tribute

In May 2023 at 60.5 years Kulkarni attempted the Everest again. “I was extremely positive. I felt Anjali with me in spirit, every step of the way,” said Kulkarni. “When I put my foot on the summit on May 23 this year, it was indescribable. I had paid tribute to my wife and flown the tiranga too, which also gave me so much joy,” said the Wagle Estate resident of his record climb, as the oldest Indian on the summit at 60.5 years and 3 days. Kulkarni took days to recover; he had eye problems because of snow blindness. He thought about an Australian climber and friend who had died on the same climb. Yet, he had conquered the mighty Everest, the mountain that will continue to lure climbers, with its mystique, magic and myths. This is altogether another beast and you need persons of intense motivation and mettle, and perhaps, some hard-to-explain madness to stand at the top. Men who make you think about conquering Everest may not be a mountain, but any challenge in your life. Men, a little like Sharad Kulkarni.

60.5years
Age at which Kulkarni scaled Mount Everest

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