No mountain high enough

It isn’t everyday that one decides to climb Mount Everest. But when one does, it is usually with a motive to conquer the world’s highest peak. Capt Mohit Tomar, however, is planning to scale the icy surface of the mountain to inspire people.

The 37-year-old leadership trainer at Indus School of Leadership has always had a thirst for adventure and he realised that he can motivate people in the process.

He says he doesn’t look at the climb as a conquest but as a challenge. “Being human is a great thing – it gives us the status quo. And as humans, we like challenges.”

This is more of an attempt to conquer oneself than anything else, he says. “To climb a mountain like Everest, one needs intense physical training. I attended a basic and advanced mountaineering course and trained for a year. Also, one needs to be
mentally strong and spiritually prepared. A person is risking their life on this adventure and they need to prepare for that; they need to have strong belief.”
According to Mohit, every mountain has a soul and that must be acknowledged and respected before starting out on the journey.

 “Every mountain has a soul – it can either be a good one or an unrestful one. You need to ask the mountain to accept you. Even willpower won’t work after a point; only Divine Providence will. There’s a system that shouldn’t be disturbed...one must just come and go.”

He adds that people with “big egos” cannot climb a mountain because their “load is too heavy”.

He admits it was hard for him to let go of his ego but then, “I realised how small I am, a dot, when compared to these mountains and nature; I’m nothing.”

The retired captain has had an interesting journey so far. He joined the defence forces in 2001 and retired in search of newer verticals through which he could contribute to community building.

Thereon, he joined IIM and became a leadership trainer. He has trained people from the ages of four to 64.

It is with the support and guidance of Col (retd) Neeraj Rana that the five-member team, including Mohit, will undertake the trek from the Everest Base Camp via
Namche Bazaar and Thyanboche.

The trek to scale the summit will be attempted on May 15, moving through four camps spread across Khumbu Glacier, Lhotse wall and South Col. Mohit says
mountaineering is a team sport and it’s impossible (at least for him) to complete the task alone.

 “Climbing a mountain takes collective intelligence and not individual intelligence. You are getting help from the sherpas, who are Nepali, the equipment is coming from France and Germany, the weather reports are from Switzerland and I am Indian – this is a collaborative effort.”