Aditya Gupta is not your average golf-playing corporate honcho. He is someone pushes the envelope. Scaling the world’s highest peak at the age of 50 is just an example. Also, learn why he feels “overcrowding at Everest” can be a blessing.         

He is a name to reckon with in the world of furniture and home décor manufacturing, He believes in raising the bar, and he just did that by scaling the world’s highest peak.   

He loves reaching new heights, whether in business or by literally climbing treacherous mountains. Just like he does his business i.e. by taking calculated risks and preparing meticulously, he achieved what very few corporate honchos can even imagine – scale Mount Everest.

The owner of successful brands like Sharda Exports, India, The Rug Republic, and The Furniture Republic developed a taste for adventurous treks at a young age as he went along sharpening his business acumen. Today, his kitty is full of tales of many thrilling expeditions from Mount Kilimanjaro to Mutnovsky Volcano. But he has the knack of going for the next big thing. So, a year back he set his eyes on the highest peak in the world standing at 8,848 metres. But he believes in the method even when others might diss the idea as madness. It took him nine months of rigorous training and building stamina and shedding 12kg of weight before he felt he was ready. Fortune favours the brave and in the month of May, Aditya fulfilled his long-cherished dream and has returned a changed man. “It is a life-transforming experience in various ways. It teaches you about mental toughness, focus, optimism, self-confidence, courage, the power of goals, and the lesson of breaking the most monumental task into smaller bits to overcome them,” says the successful entrepreneur who hails from Meerut.

The interesting part is that he achieved the feat at the age of 50, a stage where others start planning for early retirement. “Age is totally on my side and being 50 is an advantage as I am well aware of my responsibilities and limitations. I am blessed with time, energy and opportunity to explore life on a larger canvas. And as far as the topic of retirement goes, it is out of the question for me till God permits me to be in working condition,” says the DU alumnus. Back on his home turf and taking stock of things, Aditya credits his family for being supportive. “They believe in me and let me do what I want,” he says.

As the businessman in him keeps a sharp eye on developing market trends while managing day-to-day affairs, somewhere he also keeps planning to go on another exhilarating adventure.

“Nothing is out of reach. My goal in Everest was to prove that ordinary people like me can achieve anything with mental tenacity and physical endurance which is derived by the commitment to the goal,” he says to those who come seeking his advice.

Mount Everest is currently in news for overcrowding. The man who witnessed the situation first hand, explains, “It is also an advantage, not just a problem. The step marks on the ice surface make it easier to negotiate while scaling the massive walls. The ropes are there for support and safety but minus the steps cut out on the ice, the very path would be way more difficult to tread. Well, blessings come in all forms.”

But he also adds, “Some crowding is unavoidable as Nepal won't reduce permits. The weather windows cause restrictions on how many days are open for the summit and that's uncertain till the last min.Too many unqualified agencies and sherpas are involved there along with unqualified climbers.”
 
“The place is a dangerous cocktail of risk and problems. One needs to he very cautious before deciding to go”, he concludes.