Meet Harshvardhan Joshi, a mountaineer who scaled the tallest mountain in the world despite testing COVID-19 positive. Read more to know his story. By Presha Mahajan
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Achieving the daunting feat of climbing Mount Everest, the Navi Mumbai-based mountaineer, Harshvardhan Joshi, did something that takes a load of courage and determination. The 25-year-old’s mission named SangHarsh, meaning challenges, was indeed strife with them. What is most laudable was his resolve to power through COVID-19 to achieve the same.
Climbing up the high altitudes of the icy-cold mountains–health issues are both inevitable and common. That is why when members of his team started experiencing cough, media states that it was dismissed as the infamous Khumbu Cough—named after a valley leading up to the mountain. Its symptoms are almost indistinguishable from COVID-19. However, when news of the Coronavirus infecting the base camp reached him, things got bad. There were supposedly no testing facilities present at the camp either. When a lot more people began falling sick, the wife of a team member reportedly flew in with Rapid Antigen Test kits. As per media, he considered it important to get tested before he resumed his journey, and although asymptomatic, his results were positive.
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“You would imagine training and being responsible for the expedition would prepare you for everything, but that’s not quite so what happened up there. The pandemic did make us cautious and the journey was just fine until me and some of my team members contracted the virus,” Joshi told Indian Express.
Despite testing positive, he did not want to give up after having come so far. Owing to the pandemic, his plans had already been cancelled before. The last phase of his expedition, the entirety of which reportedly costed over INR 60 lakhs, had to be braved. He did not wish for his five years of training to go down the drain, so he immediately isolated himself and monitored his condition for a few days, reports media. As he was fully vaccinated, he experienced neither fatigue nor respiratory issues.
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Amidst the dangerous environment, Joshi recovered soon; and with extra oxygen, a chopper and a doctor at the team’s disposal, he kick-started the final part of his journey, claims Indian media. On May 23, he is reported to have reached the summit, and subsequently began the perilous climb back down.
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What makes his achievement even more impressive is the fact that his expedition was entirely sustainable and eco-friendly. As per media, his team kept the carbon footprint to a minimum, and protected the mountain environment and climate by only utilising batteries and solar panels. “My mission was very simple: promote awareness about renewable energy, while also trying to show a way to reduce the adverse effects of such missions or tourism at large, without harming nature,” he added in the same report.
Upon completion of his journey, he donated the solar panels that will be set up in remote Nepalese villages. On his next goal, he plans to conquer Lhotse— the fourth highest mountain in the world, and often deemed more arduous than Everest.
Editor’s Note: Keeping the current situation of the pandemic in mind, T+L India recommends every reader to stay safe, and take all government-regulated precautions in case travel at this time is absolutely necessary. Please follow our stories on COVID-19 for all the latest travel guidelines.
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