“Climbing mountains and trekking at high altitudes is my passion, and there is nothing one cannot do if one is determined to achieve dreams”, said the well-known mountaineer Pranav Rawat in his interaction with Shoolini students during a Guru Talk in the University campus.

Pranav became first Indian to climb the frozen Shela waterfall in Spiti Valley. He has the unique distinction of covering about 950 kilometres across the uncharted high Himalayan region from Ladakh to Nepal by foot in just 47 days that too without any external support. He revealed that he never got any professional training for his mountaineering and climbing; instead, he used to watch documentaries and read books regarding the same and trained himself.

He said the mantra he learnt during his training was three Ms:

M stands for Muscle power (required to work in the cold), Mind (100 per cent focus on mind essential for mountaineers ) and Money (for equipment and other essentials).

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He spoke less and interacted more with students through his videos that were made during his climbing that inculcated keen interest among the audience. Besides being a mountaineer, he is also a full-time apple farmer who hails from Hatkoti village in Shimla district. In 2012 he graduated in mountaineering courses. He also went through depression for 6 years when he became a victim of jaundice.

Asked upon how he overcame those depressing years he said: “Mountain climbing and trekking were only my healing mantra”. Shekhar Singh, guru and guide for mountaineers also shared his experience working along with Pranav Rawat.

Shekhar’s first big climb was Mt Eyeline. He said that there was a time when they had abandoned all hopes of staying alive under challenging conditions, but their passion led them not only to save themselves but also make such big world records. When asked about their plans for climbing Mt Everest they stated they would surely do so once they get all the resources and required financial aid as it will take much money to do so. Shekhar also added Mt Everest is in mind and if one is determined to climb it, there can be nothing that can stop him or her.