Escaping the rollercoaster of urban city life, the thrill of adventure and the serenity of nature stole Mithililesh Patil, a young professional Indian mountaineer’s heart away as he meditated behind the flowing stream amidst the Himalayas.
The Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports offered a mountaineering course in Manali that Mithilesh, without batting an eyelid decided to do to explore his new found love for the mountains and that’s when the young Indian decided to settle down in the mountains.
The mountains floated like a pendulum for the young Indian, translating the climb to life lessons and the peak to true love.
When the professional mountaineer resided in Mumbai, he lived a contrasting life. If the need for any essentials arose, he would resort to his bike even though the location was 2 minutes away. Whilst in the Himalayas, the young Indian resided in Parvaty valley, meaning, if the need for essentials arose, he would have to backpack his way up and down 9kms with over 20kgs worth of goods.
The chilled water running down the taps didn’t make it any easier but from struggling to wash hands to professionally washing vessels, the mountains became Mithileshs’s guru.
How you challenge yourself, your caliber, your capacity and how far up you can go, the Himalayas with infinite lessons gave the mountaineer a best friend too. Suri and he worked together during the day and brainstormed with a cup of coffee and a view of snow at night on the changes they could bring about to the valley.
No doubt, residing in the Himalayas could be a mountain high dream and a mile-high climb, quite literally and metaphorically but this is the journey of how Mithilesh Patil a dreamer and a professional mountaineer did it.
