On October 18th, 2017, the JGI group of schools, with JanJay Adventures, reached Everest Base Camp with the largest contingent of students from India to date. The ages of the students ranged from seven to 16 years old. It was an enormous undertaking for the students, the parents, the teachers and the guides from Peak Promotion Nepal who made it happen. Ang Diku Sherpa was one of the guides and her story of working with the group is inspiring. She made sure each student had their Musa Masala altitude tips card to help them learn about safe mountain travel and the danger of altitude illness in the Himalayas. You can get your card here!

This trek took much preparation. JanJay Adventures taught the children what they could expect and trained them to be physically ready for the challenge ahead. Leading the group was Jaahnavi Sriperambuduru, India’s youngest professional mountaineer. Now just 16, she has summited four of the seven summits, including Mount Denali in Alaska with her father, Krishna Rao, who is in treatment for lung cancer. Jaahnavi plans on returning to Mount Everest in the spring of 2018. We wish her great success! Thanks, Ang Diku, another Musa going on awesome adventures!

 

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Group photo outside of Tengboche Monastery

 

Travelers from around the world visit Nepal to trek through the mesmerizing, breathtaking Himalayas. Many trekkers make their way to Mount Everest Base Camp. It has been a dream of mine to go and I got the chance to make that dream come true with my Peak Promotion team of Ang Babu Sherpa, Ngwang Phuri Sherpa, Phula Kancha Sherpa, Dorji Sherpa and Krishma Poudel. We were to lead our clients, The JGI Group of Schools, Shameerpet, Tadbund, and Kondapur. This would be the largest contingent of school students to take part in a trek to Everest Base Camp.

 

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Gathering the group in Lukla with Super Phula Sherpa and Ang Diku Sherpa

 

We are very proud to have helped these students, along with Janjay Adventures, to realize a world record for the largest student group to make the EBC trek! We want to congratulate the 26 students: 13 boys—one only 7 years old!— and12 girls, including a 9-year-old, were lead by Ms. Jaahnavi Sriperambuduru, India’s youngest professional female mountaineer, a seeker of the seven summits and empowerer of young girls to achieve their goals. Dr Krishna, the director of Janjay Adventures, and Dr. Chandrasekhar, who had the idea for the trek and who trained the students in preparation, rounded out the leader group.

 

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Rest stop!

 

When I was told I would be going to EBC with the students group I was both nervous and excited, but trekking with these lovely kids was really memorable. We were amazed by their passion and love for adventure. As the trip started, all were doing really well. Before they began each day, the students gathered with their teachers who would say, “Hus ta Lakri hus ta lakri!,” which means, “How are you doing?” The kids would reply “Hu ha hu ha!” for their morning motivation.

Although they could get tired from walking, they never lost their aim. I remember them always asking after lunch, “Ma’am how far is it to our next destination?” I found I could never refuse the request for a bit more of a rest: “Ma’am two minutes please, ma’am two minutes please!” From the start, they were full of questions and we did our best to answer them.

 

Ms. Jaahnavi Sriperambuduru (in foreground) with her father (behind her) with the group

 

When we had our rest days in Namche Bazaar, the group caught the first glimpse of Mount Everest at the Tenzing Norgay Memorial Stupa as the clouds briefly parted for us! We really had a good time singing songs and dancing.

 

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Gathering the group at Base Camp for a photo

 

Everything was fun but when we reached the Thukla Pass it got tough for the younger kids. The weather was really cold and windy but slowly and steadily, we made it. By Gorak Shep I started to have a throat ache. Coming back from Base Camp it was really cold and we all had to push ourselves. Krishma and I decided to drink a cold Coke. We were so tired and thirsty. This was not a good idea. After a few minutes I could barely talk. When I called my mother to let her know of our success, she did not recognize my voice. She started laughing when she realized it was me! Krishna told me not to speak, but Ngwang Phuri was making fun of me by asking me many questions that he knew I could not answer. As we descended my voice came back but not completely for awhile.

 

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The Peak Promotions team

I was really happy with my team and all the kids. They were so determined to complete their journey, and I learned a great lesson. Inspiration can be anywhere. You just need to be able to grab it. Congratulations to these amazing children, their teacher and parents, and all the guides on the successful completion of a new world record!

— Ang Diku Sherpa

Ang Diku with two trekking superstars!