Youngest Indian trekker at Everest Base Camp
She has admired trekking since the age of five when her father Pankaj Narvekar would go trekking on breathtaking mountain paths like Spiti Valley. Gunjan Narvekar’s desire to do a challenging trek with her father was fulfilled recently when she trekked to Everest Base Camp. The 12-year-old was the youngest Indian and the only Goan other than her father among the 16-member group to complete the trek in December 2022.
She trained tirelessly to get acclimated to the low oxygen levels, the freezing temperatures, the walking speed and the steep slopes before setting off to explore the icy heights. Her father, an avid trekker himself, oversaw her training under rigorous conditions including carrying an 8kg backpack while walking on a treadmill and sitting in icy, bone-chilling water in the bath tub.
Although the training and the trek were challenging, it was rewarding in the end. At 3am under a clear dark sky, Gunjan ushered in the New Year 2023 with a splendid view of Mount Everest from Kalapathar, at an altitude of 5644.5m. For her, it was an adventurous New Year and shares her experiences with VIVA GOA.
My training session before leaving for everest Base Camp…
I started training at home six months before the trek, walking about 8kms (90mins) thrice a day on a treadmill every day with an 8kg backpack at max inclination.
My mental and physical preparation before the trek…
Was to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. I was confident of my physical fitness but I had to prepare myself mentally for extreme cold temperatures.
The biggest challenges during the trek…
Was preventing high altitude sickness, commonly known as acute mountain sickness (AMS). The normal SpO2 level in the body is 99 per cent at sea level and drops significantly at elevations in excess of 4000 metres. This lack of oxygen at higher altitudes can lead to a life-threatening condition called high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) with associated shortness of breath or high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE) with associated confusion.
Since Everest Base camp is 5,364 m above sea level, the SpO2 levels can go down to 76 per cent, with peak winter temperatures ranging from -10 to -20, increasing the difficulty multi-fold. Even a relatively small degree of exertion can lead to extreme breathlessness and fatigue due to low oxygen levels.
I underwent hypoxic training at home for more than six months, which probably helped me a lot but the main obstacle was surviving without meat for over a week, especially fish.
Other treks I have been on …
Include treks to Chandrashilla, Chadar, and Kedarnath. Next, I would like to summit one of the 7000+m peaks in Nepal like Annapurna IV.
I developed an interest in trekking…
Seeing my father travel to places where no ordinary person would think to go. He routinely travels to places where temperatures go below -25 C like Spiti valley / Caza in Himachal Pradesh and I was always eager to join him in his adventurous travels.
Read the full article in ‘Viva Goa’ magazine copy.
Viva Goa magazine is now on stands. Available at all major book stalls and supermarkets in Goa.
