the goan I network
MARGAO
This 24-year old lad from the land of sun, sea and sand is all set to conquer world’s highest peak, Mount Everest as he is bracing up to leave for Kathmandu on March 21 ahead of his attempt to climb Mt Everest in the April-May 2018 season.
Perhaps the first ever attempt by a Goemkar to climb Everest, Rahul Prabhudesai will be part of the American team called International Mountain Guides from Seattle, which will trek for about 10 days to reach the Base camp.
Mountaineering is not something new for the 24-year old, who was encouraged by his parents, Margao Municipal Chairperson Babita and Dilip Prabhudesai, to take up sports. “In September 2017, I had summited Dhaulagiri 7, a mountain of height 23,800 feet in Nepal after a 35-day expedition. It was the first and only summit of the 2017 climbing season. It is the highest altitude mark a Goan has been to”, Rahul told the media on Saturday in the presence of TCP Minister, Vijai Sardesai, and parents, Babita and Dilip Prabhudesai.
Rahul said the 10-day trek to reach the Base camp will be followed by a month-long acclimatization programme on Everest, during which they will ferry the gear to higher camps. “During the first or the second week of May, depending upon the weather window, we shall attempt the summit in a 5-day rotation from the Base camp. The climb involves setting up 4 camps between Base and the top of Everest”, he added.
After completing basic Mountaineering Course at Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in 2012, there’s no looking back for this young lad. Since then, he has been on over six expeditions in the Indian and Nepal Himalayas as well as in Russia. During this period, he had attempted and climbed five peaks over 6,000m from 2012-2016. Since the Everest climb including year-long training for Everest and expeditions in 2017 entail a total cost of Rs 70 Lakhs, Rahul said he has been privileged to be supported by the Goa government with a generous grant as he is expecting the government to chip in at least 50 per cent of the total cost. “Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai have both taken personal interest in ensuring that the first attempt of Everest by a Goemkar is recognised and supported. Also, I have received tremendous support from Goan corporates and fellow Goemkars towards making the expedition possible”, Rahul said, who had done his Master of Science in Sport Management from Loughborough University, UK in 2015-16, besides being a recipient Goa Scholar Award in 2015.
Addressing the media, TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai said the government will fund a substantial amount of Rahul’s expedition to Mt Everest. “Rahul is a moment of pride for Goa and Goans. Goemkars are perceived as susegad, but this Goan lad is raring to achieve his passion”, he said, adding that the government will back the young Goan’s attempt to climb Everest.
