HYDERABAD: Ayush is reaching greater heights, literally. Inspired to take up trekking by his father, the Intermediate first year student has become the youngest to scale Kang Yatse 2 at 15 years and 10 months. He nearly made it to Kang Yatse 1 too.
KY is a mountain located at the end of Markha valley in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas.
Ayush and his father Abhishek scaled the KY2 (6,240 metres) on Aug 23. The expedition took four days - a day's ride by road and two days of walk to the base camp at 5,100 metres. On the fourth day, the trek started at 11 pm and reached the peak at 8 am the next day - a nine-hour journey.
After his return to the base camp, they rested for two days and began the journey to KY1, which is 6,400 metres high on Aug 27. It took two days to reach the summit camp that saw climbing through extreme gradients of snow, ice and rocky sections. The father-son duo and another member Sam, reached 6050 metres but Ayush had to return due to treacherous conditions. His boots were filled with snow and going further was dangerous. However, he is the youngest to complete KY2 and attempt KY 1.
"My body was exhausted due to back-to-back trekking. A lot of snow got into my boots. The conditions were tough, and it was snowing constantly. When I told my father that I could not continue, he and Sam also decided to return with me. That left me shattered mentally," Ayush told TOI on Tuesday.
Ayush trained four months for the expedition. "I had to be strong physically for this challenging journey. I did a lot of cardio and a little bit of weight training for four months to become stronger," he said.
But why mountaineering? "I started it because of my dad. When I was 10, my dad took me to Sandakphu trek in the Singalila Range. That was my first trek. I enjoyed that and that's how it all started." The youngster completed the Kedarkantha winter trek in 2021 and became the youngest to summit Bali Pass in the Garhwal Himalayas. "We also attempted to summit KY2 in 2022. But when we went to the base camp after four days' trek, I had food poisoning and had to return home.
The Gaudium School student, who is also part of the school football team, wants to trek the 7,000 metres mountain - Mount Nun or Mount Kun - next. "This is my short-term goal. I also want to continue my passion for football as well," he signed off.
