Suresh Babu, SVN, didn’t know how long it would take him to reach Mount Everest Base Camp when he set out on a mission.
The IT expert from Visakhapatnam was pleasantly delighted to finish the walk in only four days, reaching a height of 5,364 metres above sea level, despite the knife-like temperature of winter and Covid-induced obstacles.
The trekker completed the first part of his expedition in four days after starting on December 20, 2021 at noon in Lukla. “The trek from Lukla to Mount Everest Base Camp would normally take 12 to 14 days to complete.”
Fortunately, unlike many trekkers, I did not have mountain sickness. With the exception of an occasional headache, I was able to work for 12-14 hours a day, including an hour-long break at high altitude,” says Suresh Babu, who works as a marketing director for a company based in California. Actual Adventure Private Limited presented him with a certificate for becoming the first Indian to reach Mount Everest Base Camp in such a short period of time.
The trekker completed his last leg of the trek on December 24 around 4:30 pm, after completing the first portion of his journey from Lukla to Namche Bazaar on day one. “It wasn’t until day two that I realised I had travelled over half the distance of my solo walk,” says Suresh Babu, who earned his BTech in Chemical Engineering from Andhra University and his MBA from Griffith University in Australia.
Suresh Babu says, “It was difficult to get sufficient nutrition while on vacation.” As a result, I was reliant on energy bars, packaged foods, and other items. In addition, rocky terrains and snowy weather conditions posed difficulties.”
The Nepalese government and a Nepal-based institute kept an eye on him during his marathon.
Suresh Babu has spent the last five years mountaineering. The trekker has completed short-term adventure courses prior to his solo trek to Mount Everest Base Camp. “These short-term courses, in addition to trekking along the Eastern Ghats and training in gyms, helped maintain my body and mind agile,” he says.
