Society
Reaching a high
Vibha Sharma

With a mountain peak beckoning thus — "Although Mount Everest was already conquered, its romance remained, and the age of discovery of the earth was not over. That mountain still stood as a challenge to the human spirit and nations were tempted to accept that challenge". On May 20, 1965, a young member of the Indian expedition, who had never been a mountaineer, planted the Indian flag on the summit of Everest, the first Indian to do so — Autar Cheema with Nawang Gombu on his rope.

This achievement worked as a much-needed balm for the bruised self esteem of our country in early 1965. It was when the scars of defeat from treacherous China were still very much fresh and Pakistan was trying to make the most of the vulnerable situation of India by encroaching upon the Indian territory in Rann of Kutch. Besides these two external foes, there was one internal adversary too, the shortage of food. "It is with this backdrop on the subcontinent that an expedition to climb Mount Everest by Indians was allowed." More Than Everest is a befitting tribute to a person who donned many hats with élan by dint of his inner strength of character and tenacity.

From being a highly decorated paratrooper in the Indian Army, a mountaineer to have achieved the rarest of the rare feats, a compassionate and visionary farmer to a loving family man, Autar Singh Cheema achieved it all.

The book traverses his journey from his childhood years through various stages of his life and career till his last days when he fought like a brave soldier against a formidable enemy, leukemia. In a life which spanned less than six decades, Autar Singh managed to make an indelible mark in the annals of Indian and international mountaineering and has thus attained immortality.

As a famous Hindi saying goes: Zindagi badi honi chaahiye lambi nahin (Life should be measured in terms of deeds not merely years). Autar Singh's life is a true example of a meaningful life, well lived.

This book is the brainchild of his niece, Preena Sandhu, who along with Ajindar Kaur Cheema collected and collated all information before finally handing it over to the author Dr Harish Dhillon. The auhtor has done justice to Col Cheema's spirit through his pen. In Mrs Cheema's words, "A lot of effort went into contacting all people he knew so that we could compile the book. Thereafter, the response was so overwhelming from his friends, relatives and peers that we had much more material than required. Then started the process of weaving all this contribution into his life's story, which Harish Dhillon did most successfully."

Every phase of Col Cheema's life is handled in detail in separate sections and one is dedicated to mountaineering. Some rare diary entries recorded by Col Cheema bring the real flavour of what goes on in the mind of a person while in the midst of action. The chapter on mountaineering covers all: Preparation for the rigorous climb, the thrill and excitement of having conquered Mt. Everest and the adulation that followed this adventure.

The biography comes across as a well-researched piece of writing appropriately supported by a number of pictures which makes it a visually pleasing read. However, it runs the risk of overwhelming the readers with too many names and a not-so-significant incidents.

"A true people's person, Col Cheema had time to listen to everyone and with genuine care and compassion. He always looked at the positive side in a person and also life in general. These simple values were the essence of his charismatic persona and for that he was loved by all," Ajindar Cheema reminisces. She adds, "When on the peak of Mount Everest, Colonel Cheema saw the world below and realised that we all are so small in the face of the natural elements and the Almighty. It helped him keep his feet on the ground and savour the simplicity life offered."

Lady on Everest

Adventure is putting yourself outside the comfort zone, says Susan Hunt, an Australian adventurer

On acclimatisation

I came from the beaches of Australia to the snow summits of the Himalayas with a dream. The duration of my expedition had a crucial three-week acclimatisation period. I got help from Raj and his team at Responsible Adventures specifically for low-altitude training as I have a particular issue with altitude sickness at low levels. The team let me do a trip, a solo three-week trek at an unscheduled departure date. With the services of Peter Chettri, lead tour leader and Chandra, the porter, both very knowledgable, we had a trek around the Annapoornas.

The base camp

The entire expedition was incredible experience. Be it the monosyllabic conversations with "strangers" as in other members who accompanied the expedition who became friends at the base camp or life at the base camp itself. A mini city that is what a base camp is, a bit of a mess since it is built on snow/ice and rainwater. However, life is luxurious at base camp with Ipods, Ipads, games and good food. It is a great place to bond.

Preparation for the climb

Thanks to my past experience of sky mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing and the likes, walking on the Everest expedition was more about a skill set.

The wardrobe

I wore a $10,000 worth of down-suit that required just thin thermals underneath. As you climb higher, the suit entraps the oxygen and that makes it really warm.

On food and water

You eat packaged foods so I had matar paneer and palak paneer. On occasions, got to enjoy slices of iced birthday cake as well with the writing on it intact. The water we drank was melted ice. On day of the summit, I ate 10 jelly babies and drank four litres of water.

The climb to the top

It was a very steep, dangerous climb. It was scary as I knew that if I did anything silly I could die and that was sobering. Avalanche scare at half camp did make me realise that this was a dangerous feat that I had set myself out on. Another point where I got scared was walking on 4 or 5 stage ladders that are joined to form a bridge, gapping a crevace.

On repeating Everest

Once I had summated the peak in May 2011, standing there recollecting all that I had gone through while climbing to that point in a flash, I said to myself 'no way' but after putting this slide-show together may be!

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