Elbrus, The Summit and the Learning

Mountaineering is my passion. One that makes me feel alive and energizes me.

Every peak I have conquered has taught me more about life than living in my comfort zone ever has. And my tryst with Mount Elbrus, the highest peak of Europe 5642 M was no exception.

From getting my leg fractured just a few months before the climb, having practically no food and not enough water at 4000 meters and surrounded by snow, braving through wind speeds of 60 Knots and temperatures below -30 degrees, dealing with an adventure company that was completely mismanaged and choose to abandon us in a foreign land with a foreign language, seeing one of the country’s top mountaineer take an almost deathly fall right in front of our eyes to building trust by being open, turning absolute strangers into friends, not backing down, making tough decisions and seeing them through and finally, making it to the summit and experiencing that pride of waving our national flag atop Europe’s highest peak.

There’s a lot I learned and a lot I am grateful for. Here are some my top insights that we could all use in our day to day lives as well.

There’s a lot I learned and a lot I am grateful for. Here are some my top insights that we could all use in our day to day lives as well.

Preparation is key – whether it’s a summit, your next major presentation or life, preparation will help you sail through the toughest of situations. Think Prepare & Rehearse . Start early, don’t wait till the last minute. I started my preparation months in advance. Focusing on stamina, lower body strength, working out all the limbs and practice walks with maximum inclines. However, in the middle of this journey, I met with an unfortunate accident and broke my leg. I was completely bedridden as I recuperated, lost about 4 solid months but because I had started early, I still had time to make up for it. Sometimes, we feel so confident about a task that we don’t think we need preparation time. Maybe we are subject matter experts and don’t feel the need to prepare. But challenged don’t give you a heads up before they come knocking, it’s always best to be prepared than to be sorry isn’t it!

Focus on solutions, not the problem – We all encounter unexpected challenges in life more often than we’d like to. And some challenges can feel all consuming but if we shift our focus on the solution, no matter how implausible it may seem, you’d be surprised in the ways that a solution can manifest itself for you. Shift your focus a little and see the magic happen. It takes much lesser energy to focus on solution than the problem.

Time is money – I see the value of time, putting it in monetary terms helps with the understanding. The time we spend sleeping, spending with our family aside, we have about a 1000 minutes to make each day count towards out progress. See that as 1000 rupees. If someone has bothered us, argued wit us or you’ve had a bad experience that took away 15 minutes of our time, I am not going to waste another 985 rupees just worrying about it or thinking about it. I’ve already lost 15 rupees, so I focus on making the most of the remaining money I’ve left.?

Build Trust – When we boarded our flights from Delhi, we were just a group of strangers. Different age group different cultures different generations. ?By the time we reached our first base camp though, we were friends. And this group had begun to lay their trust in me and each other. Later on, when we encountered several challenges, they turned to me for advice and trusted my decisions. How did that happen? By being open minded, transparent and making people feel empowered. As a corporate leader who’s been managing people for more than two and a half decades now, I have often advised my team members to invest in building trust with their teams. Your teams will be far more productive and happier in the longer term if they trust you.?

TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More – We climb in groups, just like we work in offices, as a team. It is important to identify the strengths of each team member and assign them work accordingly. Understand their weakness and try and help them with it as much as one can, without trying to turn inherent weaknesses into a strength. A good leader doesn’t always have to lead from the front but, they do need to have the ability to know who is best suited to lead the pack as they ensure the entire team is doing well.

Be resourceful – The weather was worse that we had anticipated. Wind speeds were too strong 60 Knots and we were advised not to move forward. And as if nature’s challenge wasn’t enough, our adventure company focal abandoned us in the middle and left. We had no more local currency, no group focal and no guides either. But there was another group 360 Explorer inc They were also from India, I had made friends with their team leader Anand Bansode and he turned out to be a gem of a guy. I told him what had happened and he graciously lent us some money for the guides and offered to let us join their group too. I often tell my teams, don’t think about what you don’t have, focus on what you do. Get creative, think outside the box, how can you make the best of the situation you’re in. And don’t hesitate to learn from others or ask help where required. It’s not that difficult, just start by trying.?

It's ok to be afraid, be courageous too – Nelson Mandela had famously quoted ‘courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. When we were just around a 1000 meters away from our summit, the gorgeous peak in sight, we were exhausted, our bodies freezing, limbs almost numb and we just wanted to get this over. But one of our team members went into a daze. She froze at her point and just couldn’t move. Most team members wanted to leave her behind and make the summit, it was right there and we had come so far. Not moving ahead also meant we would miss unfurling our flag on the 15th August, the whole reason we all had selected those dates. But we don’t abandon our weakest link or think that just because we have done our individual part, it’s not ok to throw someone else under the bus while we accept laurels. It took some convincing but we all turned back. Brought her to safety and climbed the last patch again the next day. We still made the summit, we still waved our flag and we all came back safe and healthy. It takes courage to make a tough call, even if that means we have to turn back and start all over again. Choose to be courageous. A lot of times in our corporate life standing strong and showing courage is a tiring task it’s the first time you show courage and then courage grows on to you.

Find the right Mentors – Often in life we ignore finding a mentor or a coach but they keep you on track and make your journey easier , I was lucky to be finally guided and coached by Aznaur Akkaev from @Makalu Extreme Climbing one of the most trusted guides in that mountain and I could tell the difference in his leadership vs the others. He continued to observe each member in the group and on the day of the Summit push knew the exact speed, breaks and fuel we would need to make it to the Summit. Successful leaders know there teams strength and weakness and use the strength to accelerate towards the common goal