An engineer by profession, 32-year-old Palkesh Kalma from Ahmedabad is proving that passion can take people to the greatest heights. From 2016 to 2021, Palkesh has scaled around 15 peaks including India’s highest and sixth highest peaks, Mt. Kanchenjunga ( 8586 metres) and Mt.Trishul ( 7120 metres). He went on some of the most challenging mountain treks like India’s Stok Kangri and Nepal’s Mt. Dhaulagiri. During his trek to Mt. Dhaulagiri in 2021, Palkesh had climbed continuously for 24 hours. Along with these, he has climbed some unnamed peaks too. Palkesh is planning to climb Mt. Annapurna (8,091m) next, which is the world’s toughest 8000-metre peak. Here’s his inspiring journey.
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Palkesh Participated In An Everest Expedition In 2016 And There Was No Turning Back After That!
Palkesh had started going on treks from 2014. After embarking on a few, he decided to pursue a Basic Mountaineering Course. The year 2016 came as a turning point for him when he got an opportunity from ONGC ( the company he works in) to participate in its First Everest Expedition for 2017. It was a year-long training-cum selection process. During that training, Palkesh had done a Basic & Advance Mountaineering Course and Expedition to a 7,000-metre peak. In a message to Curly Tales, Palkesh stated, “The challenges and difficulties I faced during my first Himalayan trek and during Basic & Advance Mountaineering course made me fall for mountains. This experience inspired me to start mountaineering.”
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Also Read: Twin Sisters From India Climb The Highest Mountains Of Every Continent And Create Record
Which Peaks Has Palkesh Scaled So Far?
Year 2016 and 2017
1. Mt. Friendship Peak (5,320 m) in Manali
2. Chandra Bagha-13 (6,450 m) in Spiti
3. Satopanth (7,075 m) in Uttarakhand
4. Patalsu ( 4200 m) in Himachal
Year 2018
5. Unnamed peak ( 6060 m) in Ladakh
6. Unnamed peak ( 6255 m ) in Ladakh
7. Stok Kangri (6,153m) in Ladakh
8. Mt. Kanchenjunga (8,586m) on the India-Nepal border
9. Dharamsura (6420 m) in Himachal
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Year 2019
10. Tuliyan ( 4250 m) in J&K
11. Kolahoi ( 5425 m) in J&K
12. Kang Yatse-2 (6,270m) in Ladakh
Year 2021
13. Mt. Trishul (7,120m) in Uttarakhand
14. Mt. Kun (7,077m) in Ladakh
15. Mt. Dhaulagiri (8,167m) in Nepal
Also Read: 9-Year-Old Andhra Pradesh Girl Becomes Asia’s Youngest Girl To Climb Mt Kilimanjaro
Palkesh Narrated His Toughest Mountaineering Experience During Dhaulagiri Trek
Palkesh said that his best mountaineering experience was when he had first climbed a 7,000-metre peak. Elucidating the experience, he said, “During the summit push I continuously climbed for almost 10 hours and reached the Summit early morning and saw a sunrise from there.” When asked about his toughest mountaineering experience, Palkesh said, “On my recent expedition to Dhaulagiri. I climbed continuously for more than 24 hours on the Summit day where I left for the Summit around 5:50 PM on 30th evening, reached the summit of Dhaulagiri (8,167 m) around 6:15 AM on 1st October and came back directly to Base Camp (4,700 m) around 8:50 PM on the same day.” Dhaulagiri is the 7th highest mountain peak in the world.
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With his zeal and determination to achieve what would otherwise seem unachievable, Palkesh is inspiring us all!
First Published: April 18, 2022 1:13 PM