Polio affected successfully completes Everest Base Camp trek

Mumbai: In a major achievement, a polio-affected person since birth, Abhishek Mandivikar, accompanied by his wife Priyanka Mandivikar, completed the challenging Everest Base Camp (EBC) trek.

The Mandivikar-couple are residents of Mumbai.

Organized by Giripremi Adventure Foundation, the EBC is a challenging expedition and requires extensive preparations and determination.

Veteran mountaineer Umesh Zirpe of Giripremi guided this expedition, while young mountaineer Nikunj Shah of Giripremi and Dorchi Sherpa of Peak Promotion in Nepal provided valuable support to 43-year-old Abhishek in this trek.

"Abhishek has been polio-affected in both legs since birth. But with willpower and determination, Abhishek decided to trek to Everest Base Camp along with his wife Priyanka. Abhishek completed this trek on the foot of Mount Everest in Nepal in 9 days,” Zirpe said.

In the last two days of reaching Everest Base Camp, the weather turned bad leading to snowfall and the cold increased significantly, making the climb even more difficult. But Abhishek did not give up and reached Everest Base Camp, situated at an altitude of 17,500 feet, with his wife Priyanka.

Seeing Abhishek's determination and courage, the other participating climbers, guides, other Sherpas and many people at the base camp congratulated and wished him well.

“Abhishek's successful completion of this trek even in adverse conditions will set a great example for everyone and inspire many people to achieve new heights in their lives,” Zirpe added.

Abhishek said that seeing the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj installed by the Giripremi team during the 2012 Mt Everest expedition at Gorkshep at 17,000 feet before reaching Everest Base Camp, gave him energy and determination.

“Despite being polio-affected, Abhishek is very fond of exercise and sports. He is also physically fit due to regular exercise. Abhishek had been preparing regularly for the Everest Base Camp trek for the past few months,” said Zirpe.