Aditya Gupta talks about 29000 ft stride to Everest, says physical & mental strength are key to climbing

Aditya Gupta, owner of The Furniture Republic, tells ETPanache what it was like scaling Mount Everest during its worst season of overcrowding.

We saw the pictures — the long and colourful stream of mountain climbers at 29,000 feet, inching their way along a single rope to the world’s highest peak. We know endurance, dedication and strength got them there. And sadly, we also know that many did not make it back. Aditya Gupta was luckier. The 50-year-old owner of The Furniture Republic summited the peak this year and made it back safely. But he saw first-hand the glory and destruction the mountain is capable of.

“Deaths on Everest are a reality and one has to take it in their stride. It is well known and expected that one will cross dead bodies, both old and new,” Gupta tells ETPanache. Even though Gupta and other mountaineers had to climb over those who did not make it, he says that single-minded focus is needed at the time to ensure you don’t succumb to the elements.




“It did not affect my morale as these things are anticipated. One has to focus on the mission and there are enough mental and physical battles to fight just dealing with the conditions and the terrain,” Gupta says.

Mind over matter
Physical and mental strength are both key to climbing Everest. Gupta says only one of them can be learnt. “Your mental fitness depends more on what kind of a person you are and how you have reacted to situations,” he says. “However, physically, you need to prepare your body.” Gupta trained for nine months and lost around 12 kg. “I would run with a rucksack on my back and weights tied to my legs,” he says.

And it was all worth it. He says, “When I reached the summit, I felt a sense of gratitude. You realise that there must be some divine power looking after you. It’s said that going is optional but coming back is mandatory, and most tragedies happen on the way back. I made a video of the view for my family. I risked frostbite for a few seconds to click some shots.”