Scaling new heights

His dream shattered thrice. city boy and young mountaineer Arjun Vajpai is now making his fourth attempt to climb Mount Makalu, the fifth highest mountain in the world

At just 22, Noida-based Arjun Vajpai already has three prestigious achievements to his credit — he became the third youngest Indian to climb Mount Everest (at the age of 16 in 2011) and also, one of the youngest summiteers ever to climb Mount Lhotse and Mount Manaslu, the fourth and eight highest peaks (in 2011). Currently, he is on his expedition to climb Mount Makalu, the fifth highest mountain in the world located on the Nepal-China border at 27,838 ft approx. “This is Arjun’s fourth attempt to climb Makalu. In his earlier attempts, he had to return because of unforeseen circumstances including 7.9 magnitude earthquake, death of one of his team members, inadequate ropes to climb higher altitude, etc.,” says his proud mother Priya Vajpai.

Makalu is a technically tougher mountain to climb in comparison to Mt Everest and claims more lives than most peaks across the world. “There are hundreds of people who climb Everest and there are special sherpas who fix up the lines there, but till date the lines at Makalu haven’t been fixed which makes it even more challenging. The way it is situated makes the climb more exposed to higher altitude and there is no place to hide from any kind of natural hazard. It is a very risky and steep slope. Hopefully, they will be able to complete it this time, if everything goes per plan,” says the hopeful mother.

Priya, who is extremely proud of her son’s achievements, still has sleepless nights when he goes out on expeditions. “Being a mother, initially I had reservations about my son’s career choice. He often consoles me saying — ‘I’d rather die in the mountains rather than coming under a BMW or a truck.’ I still have the jitters and have my sleepless nights but it has become a part of our life. But after I saw Arjun’s dedication and professionalism towards mountaineering, we had no choice but to support him completely,” affirms Priya who helps Arjun maintain a healthy regime.

“He maintains a very strict diet and fitness regime. Since he is totally against extensive gymming and hardcore workouts, he practices a lot of yoga, Pranic yoga and a combination of other exercises that help him reconnect with Nature,” she adds.

When not mountaineering, Arjun loves playing outdoor sports and is a motivational speaker too. Priya shares, “He is a karate expert. He has been a state level basketball and football champion too. Since childhood, he was always fascinated with trekking and mountaineering. He adapts very quickly to high altitude like a sherpa, which seems like a God’s gift to him.”

Sharing about his future plans, Priya says, “In future, he is planning to climb the eight-thousanders that are the 14 independent mountains on Earth that are more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) above sea level. He has already done three successfully. He also plans to climb Mt Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world. In 2015, Arjun along with mountaineer Bhupesh Kumar created history by scaling an unexplored peak 6,180 metres high in Spiti valley, which they named Mount Kalam in memory of late President of India APJ Abdul Kalam.”