Meet Harshvardhan Joshi Who Aims to Summit Mt Everest

Harshvardhan Joshi on an expedition in Uttarakhand

The outbreak of coronavirus Covid-19 has thrown life off-kilter in more ways than you can count. The world’s major events — political, social, sports, fashion, and more — have been canceled and postponed indefinitely, in addition to schools and colleges and workplaces being shut. And recently, all expeditions to Mount Everest were canceled, just ahead of the climbing season. Harshvardhan Joshi from Mumbai, an avid climber who was to make his first attempt at scaling the mountain, chats with BT about how his big dream to scale Mount Everest will have to wait. “I have mixed feelings. I was looking forward to climbing Mt. Everest, and at first, I was very disappointed. People around me — my parents and friends — know how much it mattered. But of course, at this point, things are not in our control. My Everest dream awaits. I will not give up on it, and I hope to climb there next April,”

‘It has been a dream since 2016.’

This 24-year-old IT engineer has been nurturing his dream for the last four years. He says, “In 2106, I decided that I would attempt Everest. It’s something I have been cherishing.” From the word go, it involved a plot of planning, prep, and effort. He affirms, “Every summer, in these last few years, I stay in the Himalayas for six to seven months. I was born and brought up in Vasai, but now I spend most of my time in Ladakh, climbing, and training hard. I have been a mountain guide for many westerners. That is out of passion, but it’s also to train for Everest. In winter, I also go to Kashmir for skiing, for a month.” He’s got the call from the mountains, then! “Definitely! I’m a Ladakhi by heart. I tried to settle there, too, in 2018, but I couldn’t, so I thought let’s focus on Everest first.

Going sustainable with solar energy

Harsh also planned to make it a completely solar-fuelled asc. Harsh also planned to make it a completely solar-fuelled ascent to keep with the trend of sustainable travel. He says, “My aim was also to create awareness about solar energy. I believe in impact tourism, which is about going to a place and developing it sustainably. I thought I would carry solar panels to remote villages in the Everest region. I calculated the carbon offset — by understanding how much my sherpa and I would reduce carbon emissions by switching to solar energy.