'Adventure Sports Needs Funds' Says Mountaineer Satyarup

Mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta's journey is a story of possibilities and self-belief. Diagnosed with asthma in Class 2, inhalers became his default companions. Once, when he was left breathless, without inhalers, endurance helped him understand his body's coping capacity and recondition it to a healthy state. This self-reliance helped him transcend his fears and challenge his body. Later, travelling made him discover his willpower. An expedition in Tamil Nadu, where he did not use his inhaler even once, reposed his faith that his asthma recovery journey was on the right track.

A distinguished climber today, Siddhanta's achievements exemplify his never-say-never spirit. With the remarkable feat of becoming the youngest mountaineer in the world to climb the Seven Summits and Volcanic Seven Summits, his love for mountains originated at the Everest base camp in 2010. Today, he organises expeditions to different countries and guides aspiring mountaineers on how to journey through rugged terrains.

Ahead of his next trip to Ethiopia in February 2024, the Guinness World Record holder spoke with us about his life and future vision. He also highlighted that authorities must amp up sponsorship measures for mountaineers and bring the adventure sport on par with high-paying sporting events like Cricket.

This went on till my professional days. In 2008, I took the risk of going on an expedition to the Parvathmalai hills in Tamil Nadu, ensuring that my brand-new inhaler was tucked in my bag, too. After reaching the top of the mountain, I realised I didn't have to use the inhaler, not even once. That gave me a feeling of freedom and liberation. A belief system got implanted that I, too, can. A horse riding course followed this, and eventually, treks in western ghats almost every weekend with Bangalore Mountaineering Club.

The idea of becoming a Mountaineer came as late as December 2010, when I went to Everest Base Camp and promised myself that I would return one day. This led to a mountaineering course in December 2011, qualifying me to become a mountaineer.

When I look at Arunima Sinha (who climbed Everest with one amputated leg), Sean Swarner (who climbed Everest with one lung) or Erik Weihenmayer (blind who climbed Everest), I salute their spirit. For abled people, climbing K2 in the winter, crossing the North Pole solo, and crossing the great Australian Desert by foot through non-commercial routes are also great testaments of human endurance, and someday, I want to try some of these.

Initially, it seemed impossible, but I didn't give up on my dreams. Inch by inch, I headed towards reaching that dream. Our goals expand after interacting with like-minded people while on adventures. From there came the vision of climbing the volcanic 7 summits. Stories of Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen, and Nansen also interested me in Polar expeditions, and I have big dreams about that. So yeah, the more I go on adventure, the more dreams get born.

Many mountains under 6000m in the Indian Himalayas will soon become unclimbable due to the objective dangers caused by climate change. Mountains are losing the ice cover, exposing rocks, triggering more avalanches and rockfalls and more crevasses opening up. This has a significant impact on the ecological balance, too. Recently, we went to Mt Brammah and climbed the mountain after 43 years to become the first Indian team to do so and 5th overall team. We also rose through a new route because the old path became more dangerous. An unusual rain pattern above 4500m is observed, too. Also, there are no regulations on disposing of trash and human waste in most Indian Himalayas. That, too, is impacting the environment a lot. We can benchmark how Antarctica and Alaska handle such issues.

In April, I have a North Pole last-degree skiing expedition through Russia. While in May, there will be an expedition to Everest Base Camp for the business community to expose them to the beauty of the Himalayas.

June, I am planning an expedition to the Indian Himalayas and may pick up some virgin peaks in Uttarakhand/Leh/Himachal, etc. In July, I plan to visit the Mountains of the Moon in Uganda and explore some volcanoes in that region.