Krushnaa Patil is all set to climb Mt Makalu on the China-Nepal border. Rajlaxmi Arora chats up the youngster about her expedition and future endeavours

What gives her a high are those snowy peaks, the magnificent view of the world from the top, the exhilaration of scaling mighty mountains. The youngest Indian girl to climb Mt Everest at the age of 19 and the first Indian girl to scale Antarctica’s highest peak Mount Vinson Massif, Krushnaa Patil is soon heading for Mt Makalu, the world’s fifth highest mountain on the China-Nepal border. Before she begins her expedition, the Pune girl made a visit to Sakal Times office to share some interesting details about the adventurous ‘highway’ trip from Mumbai to Kathmandu which she will begin next week, and the film she intends to make during her journey. Excerpts:

How are you planning to go about your Mt Makalu expedition?
I, along with Arjun Vajpayee, a young, adept climber who holds several records, and Vibhu Pandey, an avid trekker, will be starting our expedition on March 11. We will be driving through Ahmedabad and making a stopover in Delhi to collect our equipment.
For this expedition, City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) is supporting us and Mahindra is sponsoring the SUV. Last year, we tried climbing Mt Makalu, but did not manage to reach the summit as we ran out of rope just 150 m away from the summit. It was the most horrible feeling. Physically covering 150 m wasn’t a big deal, but since we could not complete it, I was exhausted mentally.

This time you are planning to infuse some entertainment into your high octane adventure?
Yes, I will be filming the entire journey. Vibhu is helping me make the film, and I am going to be producing it. I am a big fan of Bollywood masala movies and even though I don’t know what the outcome will be…it can be a TV series or something else. But I am sure it won’t be a documentary or a usual travelogue. We want it to be a commercial film on mountaineering with three different characters. We will give the drama that is needed. And from what I can recall from my last trip to Mt Makalu, I can assure the audiences a better and cleaner footage than a popular show like the Big Boss (giggles).

Setting records has become more like a habit for you. How do you feel about your achievements? Also, did your parents encourage you to pursue this sport?
Frankly speaking, I don’t think that the achievements have settled in. That said, I have been on hiking trails in the mountains ever since I was four years old. My family and I used to drive around, not stay in hotels, but in tents, and we carried our own food and picnic table.
When I was going to climb Mt Everest, it did not matter to me that it was the highest peak. All that mattered was that I was getting an opportunity to climb and I had to make the most of it.
When it comes to mountaineering, I haven’t really faced any challenges and I would like to thank my parents for this. I have known youngsters, who have struggled and fought at home before going for expeditions, but my parents have been very encouraging and enthusiastic about my mountaineering feats.

Are there any fears when you go for such adventures?
Honestly, I feared nothing, but last year when I went to scale Mt Makalu, for the first time I was concerned about my family, my dog and people who matter to me. I was thinking about things like what will happen to my mom if I died and stuff like that. I was always comfortable with death, but last time I was just a little aware and concerned about others.

What is it that gives you a high about mountaineering?
Believe me, nobody knows why we do it, but it is so addictive that I am always more than excited to jump back into it. When I am travelling in the city, going off to pay electricity bills, travelling in trains, I just ask myself, ‘What the hell am I doing here? I should be back in the mountains.’ So, in that sense I feel that I am a little disconnected with the society.
What are your future plans?
Like I said, mountaineering is more or less a part of me now and I will continue scaling the peaks. I have also tied up with an adventure company in Pune and started a programme called ‘Yellow Frog’ for schoolchildren. The programme will help kids to explore outdoor sports, forests, and so on. It will make them step out of their homes and explore the world. More people here need to step out of their cocoon and see, feel and breathe the world.