Kangchenjunga, Priyanka Mohite and karmic fulfillment of grit and endurance

For most of the year, Priyanka Mohite is holed up in a laboratory at work. The urge to go on a long vacation often arises, but there’s been little scope for it since she joined the workforce. Instead, the official leaves are reserved to climb some of the highest mountains in the world. It’s when she trades the lab coat for a down suit; it’s the time of the year she comes alive.

“I would love to climb more often, but honestly, it would be unfair to go ask for more holidays. My employers have been very kind to accommodate my climbing,” she says.

Mohite, 29, is employed in the field of clinical trials related to cancer research in Bengaluru. Her work demands long hours and continuity. At the moment, the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of people has made her prioritise it over climbing.

But for all that Mohite has achieved in the Himalaya since she first summited Everest in 2013, she’s nothing short of a celebrity at the office.

“I enjoy sharing my mountaineering experiences. They know me as Priyanka Mohite, the mountaineer, and come looking for me to have a chat. It feels really nice,” she says.

Earlier this year, Mohite trained her eyes on Kangchenjunga (8,586m). At 4.30 pm on 5 May, she stood on the summit of the third highest mountain of the world. Once she reached base camp the following day, a celebration unfolded. She was the first Indian woman to have climbed five 8,000 metre mountains — another benchmark in her constantly growing list of firsts that she’s notched up over the years.

Yet, she knew that Kangchenjunga had tested her limits.

***

Around a year ago, Mohite was descending Annapurna I — the tenth highest mountain in the world – after another successful climb to the summit. As she sat in the snow to take a breather, she realised she couldn’t feel sensation in her right hand. She pulled off her gloves to see that two digits had turned black.

“It was diagnosed as second-degree frostbite. And I later realised that it was due to dehydration,” Mohite says.

She returned home to Satara in the midst of another pandemic wave. Before long, she too had tested positive for COVID-19.

“Just a few weeks after climbing Annapurna, I was struggling to walk short distances. The hospitals were full, so I had to isolate at home for close to three weeks. I was on medicines for COVID-19 and also on blood thinners to get the circulation going in my fingers. We decided to let the frostbite heal naturally,” she says.

The rebuilding took several months. Most of the initial work was focussed on endurance. With the fingers still healing, gym work was out of the question. At the back of her head, she knew Kangchenjunga would need her to be at the peak of her physical abilities, given the long push from Camp IV to the summit and back.

“I would try to be on my feet for close to 17 hours each day. Even at work, I would try to log over 12,000 steps. Once I completely recovered, the day would start with a run at 5 am and end with a gym workout. Those were long days,” she recalls.

The ordeal of raising funds lasted until April, just weeks before she left for Nepal. In fact, she had even considered calling off the climb at one point.

“I would be at work, scribbling notes to keep telling myself that things would work out. On certain days I would send out mails in the middle of the night. But no sponsors came forward at that time,” she says.

“Eventually when things did fall in place, it was really close to the climbing season. And I’m glad I had continued training right through that uncertain period,” Mohite says.

She not only had her climb fully funded, but another sponsor stepped in to help her source gear.

“A lot of my equipment dated back to 2013 when I had climbed Everest. Funding these climbs is so difficult that I’ve never had the luxury of spending money on gear. For all these years, I’ve always had to rent out a down suit, sleeping bag and climbing shoes. Now, I could buy my own gear. The first week of April was really good for me!” she says smiling.

***

With everything in place, she arrived at base camp on 15 April and two days later, set out on her first rotation to around 6,000 metres. The plan to climb without supplemental oxygen was dropped on realising the level of difficulty Kangchenjunga posed. After two days of rest, she made her second climb to Camp II (6,300m) and descended to base camp.

“The frostbite was on my mind. I would keep gloves on even at base camp. I wasn’t taking any chances,” she says.

For the next week, they were bogged down by bad weather. Finally on 2 May, she set off on the summit push from base camp alongside her partner, Mingma Dorchi Sherpa. Two days later, they started out for the top from Camp IV (7,200m) at 8pm. But an hour later, they had caught up with the team that was still in the process of setting up fixed rope to the top. Snowfall over the last few days had frozen and buried the existing lines, which had to be freed using ice axes. Beyond 7,900 metres, the route still had to be patched up.

What followed was a tedious slog behind the lead climbers. It took 20 hours for her to get to the summit after starting out from Camp IV.

“I knew it would be long, but this was a stretch. I would often think of the consequences if the weather was to turn. But luckily for us, the sun was shining,” she says.

The descent though had a lot in store for her. At around 7,500 metres, her mind started drifting, as if in a dream. It took her a while to snap out of it and realise something was wrong.

“The oxygen ran out. I saw someone dancing and coming towards me. That’s when I knew I was definitely hallucinating. As I sat in the snow, I told myself – Priyanka, it’s a short ride from here to heaven. Even once I pushed myself to get up, my movement was laboured. I kept mumbling that I was going to die on the mountain,” she says.

She could see camp lights in the distance. However, the terrain ahead was dotted with crevasses, and she felt uncertain about negotiating it on her own strength. Finally, another high-altitude guide arrived and led her to the safety of the tent. It was 1.30 am and her summit push had lasted close to 30 hours.

The following morning, she was told of the tragedy that had unfolded on the descent. Another Indian climber, Narayan Iyer, had died on the mountain. A few of her teammates had suffered frostbites. Mohite knew she had had a lucky escape. Kangchenjunga had lived up to its reputation.

“I got a real taste of what mountaineering is all about. After having survived all those hours above 7,000 metres, I am now more confident of my abilities as a climber. The record was a bonus, but then again, records are meant to be broken,” Mohite says.

A few weeks later, another Indian woman, Baljeet Kaur, climbed five 8,000ers in the span of a month. It’s an objective that Mohite took 10 years to complete.

“My first reaction was that it was absolutely crazy what she had pulled off. It speaks volumes of her ability as a climber, since it’s quite a challenge to climb two 8,000ers in a short span. And my very next reaction was – who gave her all that money to climb five mountains?” she says, laughing.

“For me, the time spent at base camp is really important. It’s when you can interact with other climbers and learn. That’s how you grow as a mountaineer,” she adds.

While she says she would attempt multiple peaks in a single season someday, her immediate goal is to climb an 8,000er without oxygen.

And that objective will have to wait until the next leave is approved by the office.

The author is a freelance writer from Mumbai who thrives on narrating a good story. Views expressed are personal.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.