Climbing
My upcoming journey to Mt. Everest
As you are aware that I am attempting to climb Mount Everest in April – May 2024 starting from 5th April 2024 onwards (Phew! :D). While, you may not be able to accompany me in this expedition, so I thought of putting down some information about Mt. Everest, about the expedition, the preparation, the motivation and some fun facts too
-> A bit about Mt. Everest: My take | An overview, climbing history and climbing routes
I will be taking the South Col Route, from Nepal side for the expedition, landing in Kathmandu on Friday, 5th April 2024. It’ll be a 2-month long expedition. The following link explains in detail the route, , elevation, terrain, obstacles, conditions and time taken
-> The Expedition: South Col Route
Training and Preparation
I decided one year ago to participate in the Everest Expedition this spring. Since then, I have been consciously training for it in the gym, outdoors, and trekking and climbing some big mountains. However, it took me more than 20 years to arrive at this.
I have been trekking and climbing in the Himalayas and similar mountains for around 20 years or so. Similar duration for running marathons and long distance cycling, and more recently Triathlons (incl. IronMan). Each activity, every day is a bit of training and preparation esp. mentally.
Here are some of the climbs and treks that I have done in the past.
-> My climbing expeditions so far…
Why am I climbing?
I am so tempted to say Because it’s there, but some bloke named George Mallory beat me to it more than 100 years ago. But frankly, I really do not have the answer. Maybe I am looking for the answer along the journey to the top and back.
It’s the same answer, I have for any other mountain that I climb even though the stakes are a bit higher here.
However, during this climb and few ones before this I have been and will be highlighting a new initiative that we, at Rustik Travel have started – Rustik Foundation.
Aconcagua Summit (6,961 m/22,831 ft), 22nd Jan ’24
Rustik Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated in creating a positive impact in the area of education & skills training, livelihoods, environment and culture by working closely with individuals and organisation on-ground.
The work that will be done through this was the very reason we started Rustik, in the first place. We hope to create this positive impact in various places we travel to. Further, we want this to be community driven, rather than a few of us trying to steer this. So, please do join in to advise, guide, volunteer, participate and/or contribute in anyway you could.
For details, you could write in to: creatingimpact@rustikfoundation.org or hemant@rustiktravel.com
Hopefully, through this expedition the message will reach out to many. Please do spread the word around. Thank you
How much does it cost?
It costs a bomb. Around $ 50,000 – $65,000
Here is the breakup:
Climbing Expedition Cost: $ 40,000 – $ 50,000
Equipment & Gear: $ 10,000 – $15,000
Insurance: $1,000 – $1,500
Flights (and related Expenses): $1,000
Miscellaneous (incl. Tips etc.): $ 2,000 – $ 2,500
How you could support?
It would’ve been wonderful had you accompanied me all the way through in this expedition. However, your wishes and prayers would do just fine. If you would like to do more than that, then you could contribute a bit towards the expedition expenses, which I am falling short as of now, even after raising some through friends, family and other significant ways (read mortgage).
You could transfer using any of the following ways:
UPI: hemantalbertsoreng@upi
Google Pay: +91 9845769987
Bank Transfer:
Bank Details:
Account Name: Hemant Albert Soreng
Bank Name: HDFC Bank
Branch: Marathahalli, Bengaluru, India
Savings Account No. 50100710725520
IFSC Code – HDFC0001756
SWIFT Code: HDFCINBB
Payee Address:
B-305, Krishna Lilac Apartment, Sarjapur Road,
Bengaluru – 560103. Karnataka. India.
How you could follow the expedition?
I do not have a specialised GPS devices (as they are banned in India) through which I could share my live location. However, the best I could do is regularly update on social media, whenever I am in the base camp.
You could follow/connect me and my journey through @hemantsoreng and @rustiktravel
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hemantsoreng | https://www.instagram.com/rustiktravel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hemantsoreng | https://www.facebook.com/rustiktravel
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hemantsoreng | https://www.linkedin.com/company/rustik-travel
Credits: https://www.wikipedia.org, https://www.alanarnette.com, various