Everest expedition team includes a diabetic and a former auto driver
Scaling the Mount Everest is no mean feat, even for a seasoned mountaineer, but that is no deterrent for Hyderabad-based entrepreneur Nitin Somalaraju, who just might have to push his limits a tad more than the others, given his medical history.
Nitin, 28, who has scaled Mera Peak (6476 meters), and Stok Kangri (6154 meters) in 2017 and 2018 respectively, aspires to become the first diabetic to conquer the world’s tallest peak.
Since he is diabetic, he is prone to develop edema (swelling caused by excess fluid trapped in body tissues) and frost bite in frigid temperatures. “I took precautions to prevent frost bite and edema and did not suffer from either when I scaled those two mountains. I consider mountaineering a high endurance activity. Unlike other endurance sports where people feel fatigued as they reach the end of an activity, one needs to become stronger when they are about to climb a mountain,” Nitin said, adding that he wants to spread message on the importance of maintaining a physically active lifestyle.
Another youth who stands out in the group is G. Thirupathi Reddy (23), who until a few years ago, drove an autorickshaw along with his father in Yellakonda village of Vikarabad district to earn livelihood, and pursue academics on the side.
In 2015, when he read about ace mountainer Malli Masthan Babu’s death during an expedition, he started harbouring aspirations of becoming a mountaineer. He joined Rock Climbing School, Bhongir, and scaled mountains in Africa and Australia. Since those feats, he has set his sights on Mt. Everest.
Since the expedition will cost ₹ 29 lakh per head, he managed to get ₹ 18 lakhs from BDL employees social organisation Winners Foundation which collected the amount from donors while Transcend Adventures has chipped in with ₹4 lakh. His father Gopal Reddy mortgaged their only property — a one-acre agriculture land — and secured ₹5 lakh for the purpose.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Staff Reporter / Hyderabad – April 02nd, 2019