Switzerland: 
THE boy was overwhelmed by the majestic mountains of Ladakh and the serene, stoic beauty of the Siachen Glacier. And he knew he would return.
Gurdeepak Singh Ahuja is 27 but still carries the fascination for the mountains that captured his imagination many moons ago as he moved with his father on several of his military postings.
So rooted have the mountains become in his psyche that last year he gave up a plum career as an MBA, and took off to the mountains.
Though it means following a path that is as tricky, unpredictable and insecure, much like the ones that define the mountains, Gurdeepak feels that this is his life's calling. Currently completing assignments with the UIAA (International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation, founded in 1932, with 90 member organisations from 62 different countries, also recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the international federation for mountaineering) which in the spirit of sport and friendship brings together nearly three million men, women and children joined by their passion for mountains in Switzerland, Gurdeepak is finally home.
"More than changing me, the mountains have shaped me," says this one time district level cricket player. "It requires both physical and mental toughness to climb mountains. Survival in the mountains was something that fascinated me no end. When cycling in the mountains, it is the serenity that I like best. In this calmness my frantic search for answers seems to cease. Being in the mountains is like being in company of friends that talk you out of the tough times and share your joy in good times. Cycling in mountains can be a tough affair when elevation is steep and duration is long. The worst thing is that one can feel very lonely at such times."
So though he went the academic route, completing his MBA and joining the corporate world, his mind was elsewhere. "I always kept my passions simmering, even though academically I was on a different path. During the course of my four year career, I ran a couple of half-marathons, participated in an international mountain biking competition and went for formal training in mountaineering."
He also took an exciting detour last year when he cycled in the dead of night all the way from Mumbai to Pune, a journey of over 160 kms which lasted for over 12 hours. "It was a pure adrenaline bike ride a journey that just wanted to get done!"
Cut to October 2006. An epic bicycling competition up the mountains called the MTB Himachal flagged off from Shimla has 70 participants from all over the world.
For Gurdeepak, this is a test of rigour, patience and endurance, as 30 participants already drop off since the journey proves too tough for them. For someone whose sole training in cycling was down the Chandigarh roads, Gurdeepak finished this strenuous nine day journey, which took lots out of him, "including the fat!"
On those long, solitary stretches of snow, wind and endless upward roads, Gurdeepak often questioned himself.
Why was he doing this? "It was a point I was trying to prove to myself. Also, globally we're becoming conscious of this fabric of the ecosystem that is being harmed. It is about "responsible' mountaineering now!"
In September, Gurdeepak participated in a bicycling tour Polygiro from Switzerland, going through the picturesque mountains of France and Italy. Spread on a picturesque trail through the Alpine Mountains across 550 kms and five days, this expedition brings together students from the universities of Switzlerland, France and Italy every year.
"Some of the climbs are the same as the ones in Tour de France Alpe d'Huez and Mount Ventoux, in particular are tough ones."
Covering over 100 kms each day, the prologue of the expedition began in Switzerland to Bourg d'Oisans in France, ran through Nice, the place that borders with Monaco, in France and finished in Grenoble (a mountainous region in France).
"In the mountains the mood of a person can change at the drop of a hat especially at altitudes above 2,700 mts. Careful planning is required."
But what this young man is really working towards is setting up a Mountaineering Academy in India for the youth.
"One of my proposals to the UIAA is to build a school for Mountaineering in India. I would like to work at a grassroot level with the youth in sports in the context of responsible mountaineering. We have to take the support of the National Federation that is the Indian Mountaineering Federation. Once they are on board, things are easy.
"Mountains can be loving and cruel at the same time. I have learnt this from them and applied it to my everyday living."
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