My love-affair with mountain ranges and all things alpine started recently and seems to be growing more passionate and diverse by the day. First, I used to browse the blog-sites and view lots of personal videos of true-travelers’ lowdown on high altitudes. Then I remember driving up in the rain to a book store and buying books on mountains of India and the seven summits of the world….just to be able to read about mountains in bed endlessly which is difficult with a laptop. Then came a phase when I started painting, art-journaling and paper-collaging with a central theme of the mountains. By this time….mountain ranges started getting so etched in my mind that I became a virtual curious-tourist so I took a nose-dive into mountaineering and started researching technology that aided humans in discovering and exploring the mountains and their terrain. That’s when I discovered that there is a formal course that teaches the knack of climbing mountains plus all the mountain’s moods which basically decides whether or not one would return from them in one single piece….or…..not at all!
The fact that you’re reading this topic speaks of your ‘inclination’ towards the snowy-slopes. Don’t know which milestone you’re at but maybe you need to lap-up some knowledge and know-how before you sign-up or fizzle-out. Did you know that the Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering in Darjeeling offers month-long and on-field training in Mountaineering and costs less than Rs. 5000??? This should put to rest your delusions that mountaineering is for James Bonds and Yash Chopras. Anybody who has a fetish for adventure of treading lesser traveled angular roads running in his veins, has the grit to take on a risky challenge of climbing unpredictable powder slopes, longs for the adrenalin rush that comes with uncertainty of the mood of the mountains and someone who wants to stand closest to the sky….qualifies!
If you’re that someone or you want to know if you’re that someone….there is one good way to find out. Do what I’m going to do. Enroll for mountaineering training.
My inspiration? Jordan Romero, 13 – world’s youngest climber to summit Mount Everest at 29,035 feet altitude.
Source of my confidence? The 4000+ successful climbers who made it to the top of Mount Everest.
My preparation? Relentless training, gaining 360-degree awareness and focus.
They say the best way to focus on a goal is to visualize your goal frequently by forming mental images of your goal in your brain and by recalling them often in a day.
My method? Come to the Tiger Hill Watch-tower. 4 AM. And see for yourself…..
